HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT A Comanche Drive house that was still under construction went down in flames Tuesday afternoon. Several other structures were threatened before firefighters were able to quell the flames. Chief Scott Lewis said the home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Emergency response personnel administered oxygen to an Albertson's employee while the store was emptied after a freezer fire near the bakery Wednesday morning. Advertisement

By PHILLIP GOMEZ
PVT

Wildfire, a freezer fire and a house fire that destroyed a new home in its final phase of construction got the attention of Pahrump Fire-Rescue over the past couple days.

A fire of unknown cause -- probably a cigarette -- erupted in mesquite brush between Gamebird Road and Falcon Street just after noon Wednesday, growing to about an acre and a half before it was contained.

Wind-driven, the fire was soon brought under control but numerous spot fires from flying embers kept firefighters busy.

"I got burned from it by the embers raining down as I was stepping out of my car," said Fire Chief Scott Lewis. Embers landing on the car seat burned through the material, Lewis said.

Floating embers started a secondary fire at Elderberry Street and Prairie Avenue before the fire department could call its work over.

Only an hour later, however, the fire bell rang again, this time for a structure at 4761 E. Comanche Drive, between Quarter Horse and Fox avenues. The alarm precipitated an "all hands" call. Four engines, a water tender, two ambulances and several support vehicles were involved.

When the department arrived, the stick-built home was "fully involved," said Lewis, burning "very hot" as it was fed by the wind. Straw insulation fed fuel from the inside.

A fifth-wheel travel trailer parked on the property was also on fire, he said.

The owner, Donald Davis, was living in the trailer while his house was being built, which was nearing completion. Straw bales used as wall insulation caused firefighters difficulty in putting the blaze out, Lewis said.

There were no injuries, but the house next door sustained some damage from radiant heat.

Tragically, Davis, a retired firefighter himself, lost two children to a fire 35 years ago in Indiana, according to a report.

Finally, about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Albertson's grocery in the Pahrump Valley Junction Plaza was evacuated while firefighters extinguished a fire in a freezer near the bakery.

Work had been in progress on an air-conditioning unit when some of the freezer's contents caught fire from a flying spark. Fire-Rescue was able to get the smoke out, Lewis said, and the store was able to re-open within an hour.