Neighbor describes early morning RV fire that killed 2 people

By Brian Nordli

Published Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 | 11:50 a.m.

Updated Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 | 4:12 p.m.

Adel Mira-Lizaola woke about 3:30 a.m. Sunday to someone pounding on her front door.

It was her neighbor, an elderly lady she had spoken with intermittently over the past decade, and she needed help. “My trailer is on fire, can you call 911?” she asked.

Mira-Lizaola lent her neighbor the phone, and then stepped into her backyard where she could see 20-foot flames shooting from a travel trailer into the early morning sky. In the distance, she could hear her neighbor’s panic.

“There was a kid over there,” Mira-Lizaola said. “And she said, ‘Break one of the windows. I don’t know if anyone is inside.’”

About 10 minutes later, Clark County Fire and North Las Vegas Fire arrived at 4155 E. Carey Ave. and extinguished the flames. They then discovered two bodies inside the charred remains of the old recreational vehicle next to the home.

By midafternoon, the firefighters were gone but the burnt frame of the RV remained. A man could be seen tearing off the loose metal edges; a faint odor of smoke could still be smelled along the block.

Clark County Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire and what the two victims were doing inside, said Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck.

Mira-Lizaola said her neighbor used to live in the home with her three grandchildren and her 40-year-old son. Recently, the home had been silent. She believed her neighbor had moved into another family member’s home, returning only to check on the property and clean the house.

Mira-Lizaola said she hadn’t seen anyone inside the old RV on the family’s lot before the fire.

“I feel sad for them and for the kids,” Mira-Lizaola said.

Clark County Coroner’s Office officials are working to identify the bodies.