Early Monday morning fire destroys family home

A fully-involved structure fire early Monday morning prompted an all-hands dispatch for local fire crews.

Though the home was destroyed, no injuries were reported.

The fire broke out just after 5 a.m. on the far southeast part of town where winds were exceeding more than 20 miles per hour at the time.

Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis said the call initially went out as a smoke investigation for a fire of unknown origin.

“The fact that it was confirmed a structure fire upgraded our assignment from a smoke investigation to an actual structure fire,” he said. “The fire actually took the roof off the home, as it was a very high burning fire.”

One major challenge crews faced was the fact that there no fire hydrants in that area of town.

As a result, Lewis said crews established a secondary plan of action to fight the rapidly moving fire.

“We had to use our mobile command and our water tenders,” he said. “Our tower ladder was added to the assignment where we performed an aerial attack which really worked out well for us. Because there were no hydrants in that area we had to drive back to the area of Mountain Falls to get water through a rotation of our water tenders going back and forth.”

Lewis noted that a delay in the detection of the fire contributed to its rapid growth.

There was a delay in detecting and reporting because the occupants of the home misplaced their cell phones and didn’t have the ability to immediately report it.

“It was strictly the motorists driving along Highway 160 that eventually got the information correct to dispatch,” he said. “There was no actual address reported and the motorists just said they saw a fire to the west of 160 which really left a very large open area.”

Due to the size of the home, it took crews more than an hour to get the fire under control.

Lewis said additional property at the home also fell victim to the flames.

“There were numerous exposures including other structures and vehicles,” he said. “There was one vehicle parked next to the attached two-car garage and that vehicle was on fire prior to our arrival. There were no injuries to the occupants or the firefighters.”

Cause of the fire remains under investigation Lewis said.