LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man found dead at a bottom of a staircase after a house fire in the south Las Vegas valley has been identified as a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department corrections officer, according to public records.
The Clark County coroner’s office has identified the victim as 51-year-old, James Joseph Burritt of Las Vegas.
According to the Clark County Fire Department, they received a report of a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue near Silverado Ranch Boulevard and Maryland Parkway around 7:16 p.m.
The Clark County Fire Department responding to a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue in the south Las Vegas valley (Stephanie Overton/KLAS) 
The Clark County Fire Department responding to a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue in the south Las Vegas valley (Stephanie Overton/KLAS) 
The Clark County Fire Department responding to a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue in the south Las Vegas valley (Stephanie Overton/KLAS) 
The Clark County Fire Department responding to a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue in the south Las Vegas valley (Stephanie Overton/KLAS) 
The Clark County Fire Department responding to a structure fire in the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue in the south Las Vegas valley (Stephanie Overton/KLAS)
According to CCFD, there were multiple calls from people saying, “the whole house is on fire, unknown if anyone is inside.”
When crews arrived, they found a two-story single-family home with heavy smoke and flames coming out of the windows, CCFD said.
Once a majority of the fire was out, crews entered the home and found Burritt at the bottom of a staircase dead, according to the coroner’s office.
His cause of death is still pending and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
