Woman died in smoldering fire at Las Vegas home

A woman died of smoke inhalation last week in an “extremely rare” flameless fire, which slowly smoldered and filled her house with smoke, the Las Vegas Fire Department said.

Two of the woman’s relatives returned from a trip to California on Thursday to find her lifeless body on her kitchen floor, spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The walls were covered with soot and smoke, but there was no structural damage to her house on the 2500 block of Golden Sands Drive, near Smoke Ranch Road and Buffalo Drive, police and fire officials said.

Investigators determined the fire started on her living room sofa but didn’t burn with flames, Szymanski said. Instead, he said, the sofa burned by smoldering “for a considerable amount of time” and left behind only the springs on the floor.

“This is an extremely rare type of fire, but it has happened before in the city, approximately once every five years,” he said.

In the other cases, he said, the deceased were found by family, friends or as the result of a welfare check.

Smoldering fires burn extremely hot and produce black smoke and various gases, Szymanski said. The fire burned so hot that smoke alarms on the second floor melted and fell to the floor, as did light fixtures and other plastic materials, he said.

Two relatives left the woman’s house Wednesday morning and returned Thursday afternoon to discover her lifeless in the kitchen. A man called 911 about 3:30 p.m. and said his wife was possibly dead on the floor and the home was “completely burned,” Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Jay Rivera said.

Paramedics pronounced her dead.

Investigators couldn’t figure out when the fire started, although it likely occurred sometime Wednesday after the family members had left, Szymanski said. Firefighters received a report about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday of a faint smell of something burning in the neighborhood, he said.

“But there was no obvious signs of smoke or fire and they could not determine what it was or where it came from,” Szymanski said.

It wasn’t clear what caused the smoldering fire, but it appears accidental. Such fires smolder because of insufficient oxygen, and they smolder until the burning item is consumed, he said.

The Clark County coroner’s office will release the woman’s identity. She died of smoke inhalation, Szymanski said.

Her death marks the city of Las Vegas’ third fatal fire this year.

No one else was injured. The heat and smoke damage to the house was estimated at $75,000.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter. Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.