Fireworks spark northeast Las Vegas house fire, leaving six homeless and family cat dead

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A fireworks-sparked house fire in the Northeast Valley left six people homeless and a family cat dead Saturday night, and neighbors say it did not have to happen.

Calls began pouring into Las Vegas Fire and Rescue around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. A home and all the trees surrounding it were on fire.

How the fire spread

Surveillance video captured a firework striking a palm tree, igniting the blaze. Firefighters confirmed fireworks started the fire.

“Turns out, long story short, yeah, someone set a firework off, lit the palm trees on fire, and it came down quick,” said James, whose mother lives next door to the burned home.

James said he was away when his mother called him for help. “I was praying on my way back because I wasn’t here. I had to park down the block. I’m just running over here,” he said.

Embers carried the fire to trees behind the home and onto trees on the next street over, according to a neighbor.

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Neighbors describe the scene

One neighbor said the situation nearly became far worse. “I knew that if that went up, we were all screwed. I mean, all of us. There would have been four houses on fire raging. With the wind blowing back that way, everybody behind us would have been gone too. It was a nightmare,” the neighbor said.

James’ mother and her elderly mother were among the neighbors who emerged unharmed. The family’s cat did not survive. “They were, like, doing CPR on the cat for, like, an hour,” James said.

Neighbors call for responsibility

On Monday, some neighbors said they are traumatized and angry. “I wish people could do more responsibly, you know? It’s that easy, it’s that simple to catch a fire. It’s easy to light a firework and it’s easy to burn someone’s house down just like that,” one neighbor said.

Another neighbor urged people to act quickly if fireworks go wrong. “Just use common sense. And don’t, if you screw up and drop a firework and it goes everywhere, don’t run and hide. Get people out to help fight it. Get hoses out, have your neighbors get their hoses out and ready. Because this happens and it happens every year,” the neighbor said.