Fire leaves couple homeless in Las Vegas

A house caught fire in Las Vegas late Friday afternoon, leaving a couple homeless and serving as a textbook example of how winds and back drafts can add fuel to a blaze.

According to the Las Vegas Fire Department, the fire, which was reported at 4:51 p.m. in the 600 block of Kenny Way, started on the back patio of the white, 1960s-style one-story ranch house.

But a man and a woman who live there, after unsuccessfully trying to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, fled, leaving front and rear doors wide open.

That allowed a strong wind to pull the fire into the house, where it gutted the first floor before running up one of the rear walls to the attic, Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Nearly 60 firefighters and a half-dozen trucks responded to the blaze, which occurred near Alta Drive and Valley View Boulevard. The home sustained more than $150,000 in damage.

"The intense fire destroyed just about everything in the home," Szymanski said.

It took firefighters a half-hour to extinguish the blaze.

The home's occupants told police and fire officials that they saw a glow coming from the patio through the rear windows of the house, he said.

Fire officials were still looking into what caused the fire.

The American Red Cross was working to help the fire victims.

Contact reporter Tom Ragan @ tragan@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.