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UPDATE: World War II veteran dies in Henderson house fire

Posted at 1:03 PM, May 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-31 12:39:30-04

A 91-year-old man died early Tuesday morning in an electrical fire at his Henderson home.
 
The Henderson Fire Department responded at 1:50 a.m. to a residential structure fire in the 200 block of Basic Road south of Lake Mead Parkway.

Neighbors identified the man as John Duffin. They say he was a Navy World War II veteran and lived alone in the home after his wife passed away.
 
The first arriving engine crew observed heavy smoke coming from the attic vents of a one-story single family residence. Crews initiated an interior offensive fire attack and then switched to an exterior defensive attack when conditions became unsafe for firefighters to enter the residence.
 
Firefighters used a high-capacity water master stream from an aerial ladder to bring the fire under control and allow firefighters to access the home. When they conducted an initial sweep of the residence, firefighters found the body of a man in a bedroom.
 
The fire was reported by a motorist driving by on Basic Road. There were no injuries to bystanders or firefighters.
 
The cause of the electrical fire was determined to be accidental. The total estimated loss is $85,000.