House catches fire due to neighbor’s hot ashes

One person was treated for smoke inhalation and two people were displaced after a fire early Saturday morning that Las Vegas fire officials said was caused by hot ashes from a backyard fire pit.

At 4:33 a.m. Saturday dispatchers received calls that an outside fire had spread to a house. When Las Vegas Fire and Rescue firefighters arrived they found a fire in the backyard of 6212 Don Gasper Avenue, and the fire spread next door to the house at 6210. The fire was extinguished in just a few minutes, officials said.

Fire investigators determined the fire began when hot ashes from an outside fire pit in the backyard of 6212 were blown by winds gusting 30-40 mph onto the roof of the next door house at 6210, a city Fire Department release said. The occupant at 6210 attempted to extinguish the fire using a garden hose when he was overcome by smoke. The man was treated for minor smoke inhalation on scene and released, officials said.

According to a city Fire Department release, the fire pit was used for a party late on Christmas night Friday, and the people using it said that they thought the fire was out when they went to sleep.

The fire caused $10,000 in damage, mostly to the exterior and attic of the neighboring house at 6210. The American Red Cross is assisting two adults displaced by the fire.

"Hot ashes can retain heat for several hours to over a day," Las Vegas Fire and Rescue said in the release. They recommend that ashes be thoroughly doused with water to prevent the spread of fires from embers blown by wind.

Contact Christian Bertolaccini at cbertolaccini@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @bertolaccinic