Fire chief: Victim died in home fire after going back in for pet

One person has died following a fatal structure fire along the 3000 block of West Quail Run Road. The identity of the victim has not been confirmed.

Fire Chief Scott Lewis told the Pahrump Valley Times that the deadly blaze occurred on Tuesday, July 27, at approximately 1:18 p.m.

Limited information

“As crews were responding, we were notified that the status of the occupants were unknown,” Lewis said. “We were further notified that it was reported to be a working fire with heavy fire conditions.”

Flames showing

Lewis went on to say that upon arrival, crews found a double-wide manufactured dwelling with fire showing across the front of the structure.

“There were two injured persons located on the street,” he noted. “One had a potential arterial bleed of an upper extremity.”

Victim went back for pet

Additionally, Lewis said that one occupant of the residence, who initially escaped the flames, actually ran back inside the house to rescue a pet.

“It was reported that there was an occupant still in the structure that was last seen running into the house,” he said. “Crews then quickly went into a rescue mode using a ‘blitz attack’ where a large amount of water was used in a short period of time, to knock down the main body of fire.”

Lewis went on to say that once crews entered the residence, they eventually located the victim, who was in a different area of the home than what witnesses initially told emergency crews.

“That victim was brought out and was declared deceased at the scene,” he said. “It’s our understanding through witnesses that the person was in a safe place outside the burning building, but re-entered to try and locate a dog, and never made it back out. One firefighter sustained an ankle injury in the rescue attempt when the floor gave out multiple times underneath them. The fire is under investigation by the Nevada State Fire Marshal’s Office, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes