Death toll rises to 3 after North Las Vegas house fire
A woman and child have since died after a fire last Thursday at a North Las Vegas home, officials said Monday.
The blaze began about 7:10 p.m. Thursday at 2736 St. George St., a single-family home just a few blocks north of Civic Center Drive and East Carey Avenue. Three people pulled from the home — a man, woman and child — were hospitalized in critical condition.
As of Friday, the man, identified as Ignacio Meza, 78, had died, the county coroner’s office confirmed. Officials did not release the names and ages of the woman and child who died, but neighbors said the 6-year-old child was the granddaughter of Ignacio Meza and his wife, Maria Meza.
“They were a fantastic family, and we’re devastated,” longtime neighbors William Fisher and Joan Miller said. “We watched that family grow up.”
The two lived next door for two decades.
Miller says Ignacio and Maria Meza shared the home with their daughter Bianca Meza and her children, a son and daughter.
“I talked to their little girl every day,” Fisher said of the 6-year-old child. “She was always outside playing.”
Miller said Bianca Meza and her son weren’t home when the fire broke out.
The fire’s cause and origin point remain under investigation, North Las Vegas fire Capt. Cedric Williams said. Williams did not say whether the home had working smoke detectors, citing the continuing investigation.
The homes in the North Las Vegas neighborhood were built in the 1950s, Miller said.
“We’ve had fire alarms put in our house, but we didn’t hear any alarms at all going off from Bianca’s house when we went outside,” Miller said.
Williams described the house as a “complete loss,” with more than $250,000 estimated in damage.
As of Monday night, a GoFundMe page created to assist the family of Ignacio, Maria and the child had raised more than $6,800.
“During this very difficult time, our family thanks God for your prayers and support,” a post on the page read.
https://www.gofundme.com/parra-meza-medical-and-funeral-fund
#NLVFD tragic fire update, our condolences to the family of three, all have now died from their injuries, from a fire last week.
— CNLV Fire Department (@NLVFirePIO) December 5, 2016
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter. Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.
