LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – While standing in their driveways, residents in a Las Vegas neighborhood breathed a sigh of relief after learning a deadly house fire was likely accidental, according to fire officials.
Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck provided an update Wednesday afternoon about a fire that killed two adults and two children last Thursday. The cause of the tragedy is still under investigation, but officials said they believe the fire wasn’t deliberate.
“We have a high, very high degree of confidence that this was not an intentional fire,” Steinbeck said. “This was an accidental fire.”
According to officials the three-story home also posed a unique danger to the neighborhood due to its size. Steinbeck noted the forecast of high winds set for a few days after the fire also accelerated a plan for the building’s demolition.
“The structure was unstable,” he said. “Due to the proximity to the houses next door, it was an immediate concern that we wanted to take the rest of that structure down and simply also so that it didn’t fall next to the house next to it.”
Clark County officials cited the home’s smoke alarms, which worked as intended, as a reason some of the fire victims’ family members were able to escape.
“We have learned that the smoke alarms did alert the occupants that morning,” Steinbeck said. “And that is why we credit the smoke alarms with the two survivors that we have there.”
Clark County Fire Assistant Chief and Chief Investigator Carlito Rayos said the investigation is still ongoing and is still in need of the public’s help regarding the hours before the fire.
“If anybody has any video of the fire specifically before 4 a.m. we would be interested in that,” Rayos said. “We have the video from onset. Anything that shows the fire prior to that time would be immensely helpful for our analysis.”
Steinbeck added the results from their investigation would likely take a few months to be completed—possibly taking a year.
