By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
Moapa Valley Fire District (MVFD) firefighters responded to a car fire in downtown Overton in the midst of 117 degree heat on the afternoon of Sunday, July 12.
Las Vegas residents Cory Ekin and Janessa Weishaar, along with Weishaar’s two-year-old son had been spending the day in Moapa Valley and were getting ready to return home when they noticed the air conditioning in their vehicle suddenly went out and the smell of smoke arose.
They pulled over under the shade cover in front of Fit Physical Therapy in Overton.
“I checked under the hood while Janessa got her boy and everyone out,” Ekin said.
The 2013 Ford Edge almost immediately caught fire and was fully involved within seconds, Ekin said.
Ekin called 911 at approximately 3:18 p.m. Local Metro officers and MVFD crews arrived within minutes, quickly working on extinguishing the flames.
Firefighter Sadie Drollinger worked her way inside, drenching the fully engulfed car. The fire was extinguished but not before the shade structure above the car had received damage. Property owner Kay Leavitt was present and working with insurance concerning the matter.
“It is unfortunate, but we are just glad no one was hurt,” Drollinger said.
MVFD Chief Steve Neel went over the cause and summary of the fire as he toured around the vehicle showing how the car was a total loss.
“It is a wiring issue within the car,” Neel said. “The family were lucky they reacted and got out of the vehicle. We are extremely happy no one was hurt.”
Weishaar expressed frustration over the incident.
“This is so infuriating,” she said. “We just bought this car less than 30 days ago.”
Ekin and Weishaar said they had just finished looking at housing in Moapa Valley and they intended to move to the community.
