‘It is so heartbreaking’: Neighbors reeling after tragic Las Vegas house fire
It was a somber reminder of the tragedy that devastated a family the day before.
At the house on Langhorne Creek Street, where two adults and two children had been found dead Thursday after a house fire, a charred baby doll and semi-inflated basketballs were among the scorched debris littering the property.
“We all wish we could have done something,” said Shirley Aldrich, a neighbor, on Friday. “I am not sure what exactly … but it is so heartbreaking.”
Meanwhile, a firefighter’s foundation announced Friday that it would accept donations to help the family members of the four people who were found dead.
“The Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation has stepped in to take on the role of accepting donations and 100% of the donations received will go to the family,” said a statement Friday from Clark County spokesperson Stephanie Wheatley.
The foundation “consists of active fire department personnel providing support to victims of fires & catastrophic events,” the statement said.
Just before 4:10 a.m. Thursday, crews were called to a fire at 8332 Langhorne Creek, Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck said Thursday. The house is near West Windmill Lane and South Jones Boulevard in southwest Las Vegas.
The damage to the house was severe.
“Firefighting efforts were hampered by the collapse of interior floors, making access difficult. The roof, third floor, and second floor have all collapsed into a debris field in the garage,” said a statement Thursday from Clark County spokesperson Stacey Welling.
A woman and child who had jumped from a third-story window were treated for injuries and taken to University Medical Center. Their conditions were stabilized as of Thursday.
The identities of those found dead had not yet been released by the Clark County coroner’s office Friday.
The cause of the fire was still undetermined and probably would remain so for “some time,” Wheatley said in the Friday statement.
Louiza Nacer, who lives across the street from the home, said that around 8 a.m. Friday, relatives of the victims came to visit from Texas. When they saw the house, they could not stop wailing, Nacer said.
“One of the women tried to run into the house, and police had to stop her.” Nacer said. “She kept saying, ‘I have to see my brother, I have to see my brother.’ I tried my best to comfort them.”
Two doors down from the burned home, Aldrich swept ash off her front patio while she chatted with another neighbor, Jennifer Landrum.
Aldrich and Landrum placed flower arrangements in front of the burned home, hoping to show their support for the family. Aldrich’s kids left two stuffed puppies at the fence post — one for each of the children who were found dead in the rubble.
Aldrich told the Review-Journal that her husband was preparing to leave for the airport when the fire broke out. She said it was not until fire crews arrived that she thought to check footage from her porch camera. She ended up finding earlier recordings of one of the surviving victims, who she believed to have been the woman who jumped from the house as it burned, knocking at her door and begging for help.
“She didn’t ring the doorbell, and she was whispering, almost like she was out of breath,” Aldrich added. “I feel so bad that we did not hear her.”
Mikayla Piedra also passed by the home that afternoon. On a walk with her mother, Piedra called the fire “jarring” and said her family was now considering installing window ladders in their home.
“Their house is the same model as ours,” Piedra said. “It is surreal to see because you never think something like this could happen to you or your family. It is a wake-up call.”
Anybody who wishes to give can go to the foundation’s website at theburnfoundation.org/ and click on the DONATE NOW button, the statement said.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com. Review-Journal staff reporter Noble Brigham contributed to this report.