A man and his 11-year-old son were lucky to escape alive late Tuesday night before their home in far-north Clark County was destroyed by fire, officials said.
Robert Brannfors was sleeping shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday when he heard something, woke up and saw that his home at 39812 N.E. 94th Ave. was full of smoke, said Assistant Clark County Fire Marshal Richard Martin.
Brannfors and the boy, whose name was unavailable, escaped unharmed.
“It was about as close as you want to get without falling off the edge,” Martin said.
There was no working smoke detector in the home, which was built in the 1930s, Martin said.
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Firefighters, dispatched at 11:10 p.m., “could see the glow in the sky from a couple miles away,” said Gordon Brooks, a battalion chief with Fire District 10, based in Amboy.
In the end, the home was destroyed, with damage to it and its contents estimated at $180,000.
Brannfors has fire insurance, Martin said.
The fire started around a hot tub’s pump and heater. The exact cause wasn’t determined but an electrical failure is a possibility, Martin said.
Brooks said there were no indications of foul play. A dog was believed to have been killed in the blaze. Firefighters were on scene until about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, making sure that all embers were doused.
The home has a La Center mailing address, according to county property records.
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