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UPDATE: Valley man loses home and hundreds of antiques in house fire

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue are on the scene of a house fire on Coconut Court near West Alexander Road and North Rainbow Boulevard.
Posted at 11:34 AM, Jun 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-16 02:44:08-04

UPDATE: A valley home filled with hundreds of antiques and memories went up in flames Wednesday. Fortunately, the man inside got out alive with his dog.

But Scott Boden's antiques go all the way back to the 1700s. Most of those are gone now, along with his house and car. To make matters worse, Boden had no renter's insurance.
 
"Photographs, records from the old jazz age, music from the 20s and 30s, original recordings," he said.
 
Boden was up in his bedroom when the fire started.
 
"I heard a big boom," he said. "I thought it was an earthquake. I've never been in an earthquake so I didn't know what to expect. The house just kind of shook. It sounded like a huge bookshelf had fallen on the floor and shook the house."
 
But it was actually the beginning of a terrible fire that would quickly destroy his entire home.
 
"I watched my windows crack and blow out," Boden said. "I watched the flames start ripping out all the windows in the house."
 
But even though his house had essentially nothing left to it, Boden wasn't going to give up. He dug through the rubble to find anything he could. He salvaged a few paintings and a couple bottles of wine.
 
If you want to help Boden, he has set up a GoFundMe account.

ORIGINAL STORY: A northwest Las Vegas home sustained extensive damage after a fire with several small explosions occurred in the home Wednesday.

The only occupant was home at the time of the fire.  The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced occupant.  

There were no injuries during the incident.
 
Fire dispatchers received numerous 911 calls at 11 a.m. that the garage of a house in the 3900 block of Coconut Court, near Alexander Road and Rainbow Boulevard, was on fire and several small explosions were also occurring.  Some said there was one large explosion followed by fire then smaller explosions.
 
When firefighters arrived heavy flames and smoke was coming from the garage of the two story wood frame/stucco house with smoke starting to seep out several places around the house especially on the roof. This was an indicator that the fire was spreading fast in the house.

Firefighters also had to rescue the occupant who was in the backyard of the house with his dog. His gate was locked and he did not have the key to open the gate. Firefighters got both of them to safety across the street.
 
As firefighters were attacking the fire, several rounds of ammunition was exploding and firefighters were told that fireworks and a large quantity of gasoline was also in the garage. This enhanced the intensity of the fire which caused it to spread.
 
Not long after firefighters arrived on scene, flames broke through the roof and the house was totally involved. Smoke was so thick in the area it caused police to close Alexander Road for a while because visibility on the street was down to zero.
 
Within 35 minutes firefighters had the bulk of the fire under control, it was completely out in just over an hour. Just after the fire was extinguished, the garage roof collapsed.
 
Because of the intensity of the fire and the occurrence of building collapse, firefighters were not permitted to enter the house during the incident.  Even after the fire was completely extinguished, it was still too hazardous for fire investigators to enter the house. A fence is being erected around the house to keep people out.
 
The cause of the fire is undetermined and under investigation.  At this point it appears to be accidental in nature.  Fire investigators believe the fire started in the garage.
 
The occupant was upstairs in a bedroom, when the fire started.  He said he heard a loud boom, similar to bookshelves falling off the wall or furniture falling over. He ran downstairs to see what it was and found nothing out of place.

He opened the garage door from inside the house and found the garage full of flames and smoke. A laundry room which is inside the house, suddenly filled with flames and shot across the ceiling into the main portion of the house. He said the flames spread very quickly at that point.
 
Although there was an unusually large amount of ammunition and fireworks in the garage along with gasoline, fire investigators do not believe they were cause of the fire. Once the fire started and started to spread, those items intensified the fire significantly in a very short amount of time.
 
The house was extensively damaged, most of contents in the house are destroyed. Damage is estimated at $200,000.  The man’s only vehicle was destroyed by fire, it was parked in the garage.

 

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