Family mourns loss of father and son killed in fire

CREATED Sep. 28, 2012

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  • A father and his son were killed Thursday evening when their boat exploded in the driveway, igniting their home in flames. Video by ktnv.com

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  • A wife is mourning the loss of her husband and son who died in a fire Thursday night on Bartlett Avenue in the northeast part of the valley. Video by ktnv.com

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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- A father and his son were killed Thursday evening when their boat exploded in the driveway, igniting their home in flames.

13-year-old Mirion Jackson and his father, identified by family as Hank Jackson, were lost in the blaze.

Mirion was an 8th grader at Swainston Middle School.

Family tells Action News that Mirion was playing video games and his mother was in the kitchen when they heard an explosion. It appeared Hank was working on his boat in their driveway on Bartlett Avenue, near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue, when a spark ignited gas vapors. Flames spread to the house, rising 20 feet high.

Hank was found dead near the boat. Mirion, the youngest of three children, was found by firefighters. He was rushed to University Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

Hank's cousin, Carla, tells Action News that Hank was a street sweeper by day and loved coming home to work on his cars and tinker with his boat.

"To me, he was doing something he loved, working on things," Carla said. "But it was a wrong way to go."

Carla said Mirion was active, loved playing football and looked just like his dad.

"He was always laughing and smiling and he loved his little cousins," Carla said.

Mirion's mother survived the devastating blaze. She was treated at UMC for smoke inhalation.