Firefighters found a woman dead on the kitchen floor of her Desert Shores home around 3:13 p.m. July 19 by family members who returned home from a trip to California.
The report says family members returned home from their trip to find the woman lying on the kitchen floor and that she appeared lifeless. They quickly called 911 and reported the incident. Crews pronounced the woman dead upon arrival.
An investigation showed the fire started on the sofa. Instead of burning in open flames, it smoldered for a considerable amount of time. Smoldering fires are scorching and produced various gases and thick black smoke. It was so hot inside the house that smoke alarms on the second floor melted and fell to the floor as well as light fixtures and other plastic materials.
Investigators do not know what started the fire on the sofa, but they do believe it to be accidental.
The woman was identified as 63-year-old Julie Brown on July 23 by the Clark County coroner. The official cause of death is pending.
