Coroner gives cause of man’s death in fire at abandoned house
The Clark County coroner’s office has determined the cause of death for a man found dead after a house fire in an abandoned home last month.
John Rappa, 37, died of conflagration injuries after firefighters were called to 1700 Howard Drive, near South Eastern Avenue and Oakey Boulevard, at 5 a.m. May 4 for a fire in a boarded-up home, according to the coroner’s office.
Conflagration is a term used to describe an intense and uncontrolled fire. The manner of death was undetermined, the coroner said.
A neighbor told the Review-Journal at the time that the house had been empty for a while and had caught fire three weeks earlier as well.
“We were told on arrival there were possibly two people trapped inside the house,” Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said at the time. “Apparently it is used by squatters or homeless people.”
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
