Fiery blast burns man checking for gas can leak while smoking
A utility room fire in a south Las Vegas home on Tuesday injured two people who had to be hospitalized, one with serious burns.
At 5:04 p.m., the Las Vegas Fire Department responded to a fire on the 5100 block of Silver Dollar Avenue, near Pennwood Avenue and Valley View Boulevard. A man smoking a cigarette was holding a filled gasoline container over his head, checking for a leak, said department spokesman Tim Szymanski.
Leaking gasoline made contact with the man’s ignited cigarette, Szymanski said, causing a blast of fire. The man sustained serious burns on the entire front of his body.
A woman in the home sustained minor burns to her hands after grabbing a fire extinguisher and trying to help the man, Szymanski said. The woman did not know how to use the extinguisher, and tried to put the fire out by patting the flames with her hands.
The fire caused about $100 damage, Szymanski said.
Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj.
