July 24--A two-alarm fire seriously damaged a home near TCP Summerlin Tuesday afternoon.
A neighbor noticed smoke coming from the 8,500-square-foot, two-story house at 1517 Champion Hills Lane and called firefighters at 4:35 p.m., Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said.
Arriving firefighters found no one at home and forced entry into the house, which was full of smoke, Szymanski said.
The attic was on fire, and soon after firefighters arrived, part of the second floor of the house collapsed into the kitchen on the first floor.
Firefighters then had to evacuate the house due to the thick smoke and intense heat, Szymanski said.
The fire then broke through the roof of the house, prompting officials to call a second alarm.
Items that had been stored in the attic then began falling onto the second floor of the house, setting additional areas of the house on fire, Szymanski said.
Firefighters used aerial ladders to spray nearly 5,000 gallons of water each minute on the fire, eventually bringing it under control without being able to re-enter the structure, which remains at risk of additional collapse.
Szymanski said 30 pieces of firefighting equipment and 70 personnel responded to the fire. No one was injured.
The occupants of the main house are out of town, but a person was watching the house while staying in an apartment over the home's garage, which was not damaged.
Fire investigators have not yet been able to enter the house to determine a cause or damage cost estimate, but officials hope to begin an investigation tomorrow.
Szymanski said firefighters will remain at the house all night putting water on remaining hot spots.
The home is in the Tournament Hills development near Rampart Boulevard and Vegas Drive.
, 89134
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