A very close call in Las Vegas. Firefighters shot at as they respond to house fire. Rigs hit. Suspect dead. Police officer wounded.

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The images on this page come from KVBC-TV. Click here for the station’s video.

Firefighters responding to a house fire in West Las Vegas just after noon on Wednesday were met by a man with a shotgun. That man opened fire striking two fire engines and narrowly missing the firefighters. Police exchanged gunfire with the man, killing him. A police officer was wounded.

Investigators say the fire was deliberately set in the bedroom of the home. The fire destroyed the home as firefighters were forced to keep their distance.

The rigs struck were Engine 3 and Engine 203. The most detailed account comes from Billy Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls.com. Here are excerpts from his report:

As Engine 3 pulled up in front of the house, flames and smoke was showing. As the captain radioed in his report, a male adult came from around the house with a gun and fired two times at the engine hitting it, one shot broke out the right rear cab window where two firefighters sit. The captain ordered the engine to take off and leave the area and he radioed that the crew was being shot at. At the same time Engine 203 pulled up and saw the man with a gun and proceeded to leave the area behind Engine 3, but not before that engine was also shot. It was hit just under the captain’s door window and once in a window on the right rear where the two firefighters sit. Windows in both cabs were shot out. The two engines left the scene, no one was injured.

The Battalion Chief at the incident kept crews out of the area and advised Metro Police that firefighters were being shot at. Within minutes several police units from several different law enforcement agencies converged on scene. At 12:51 p.m. Metro advised the scene was safe and fire crews could enter the scene under escort. While firefighters fought the fire two SWAT crews stood by to make sure they were safe. The suspect that shot at the firefighters was shot by police prior to the crews being let back in. When firefighters arrived the second time, there was heavy fire inside the residence. Firefighters did a quick search to see if anyone needed to be rescued, they could not find anyone and quickly evacuated the building. Because of the progress of the fire, the fire was attacked in the defensive mode for the remainder of the incident. Neighbors told fire investigators that a woman lives in the house alone, she was at work and saw the fire on the TV and came to scene later. She lives alone, relatives are with her. Police are working to determine who the suspect is and why he would be shooting at firefighters and police. There were no injuries of fire & rescue personnel during the incident.