Coroner IDs Las Vegas woman killed in smoldering fire
The Clark County coroner has identified the woman who died in a flameless fire that slowly smoldered and filled her house with smoke.
Julie Brown, 63, of Las Vegas died last week. Her cause and manner of death were pending with the coroner’s office Monday, although the Las Vegas Fire Department has said that she likely died of smoke inhalation.
On Thursday, Brown’s relatives found body on her kitchen floor on the 2500 block of Golden Sands Drive, Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.
The walls were covered with soot and smoke. Investigators determined the fire started on her living room sofa but didn’t burn with flames. Instead, Szymanski said, the sofa smoldered “for a considerable amount of time” and left behind only the springs on the floor.
The fire burned so hot that smoke alarms on the second floor melted and fell to the floor, as did light fixtures and other plastic materials, Szymanski said. Such fires smolder because of insufficient oxygen, and they smolder until the burning item is consumed, he said.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.
