Morning fire damages home in northwest valley

By Kyle B. Hansen

Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 | 10:28 a.m.

A Saturday morning fire caused about $70,000 in damages to a home in the northwest valley, fire officials said.

A person was walking on Alexander Road near Fort Apache Road at about 6:45 a.m. when he noticed smoke coming from a nearby house and called 911, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials said.

Firefighters arrived and found smoke coming from a large two-story home at 9231 Fusion Drive. No one answered the door, so firefighters forced their way into the house.

A large lounge chair was on fire in the living room, producing thick black smoke that filled the house, officials said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

No one was home, but firefighters found two dogs in the house, which were taken by animal control until their owner is able to retrieve them.

Fire damage was largely confined to the living room, but the rest of the house had smoke damage, officials said.

Fire investigators found smoking materials and overloaded ashtrays all over the house, including next to the chair that burned. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials said it might have been careless smoking.

It was unclear how many people lived in the home. No one was injured in the fire.