Man rescues 2 toddlers from Las Vegas apartment fire
A man rescued two toddlers who were trapped Friday in a burning apartment near downtown Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Fire Department crews were called about 11:30 a.m. to an apartment complex at 2616 E. Mesquite Ave. Arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from a one-story apartment where the two children were trapped, the department said.
Spokesman Tim Szymanski said a 36-year-old man, Anival Angulo, saw smoke coming from the apartment and heard children screaming. He rescued the two children, who were treated at a hospital for minor smoke inhalation.
“Without the quick action of Angulo, the children would have probably suffered severe smoke inhalation with burns,” Szymanski said, “His action certainly saved the children’s life.”
Szymanski said Angulo, currently homeless, was walking by the apartment building when he noticed smoke. Walking around the building to check it out, he heard kids crying, he said.
Angulo then jumped a locked gate into the complex and saw a girl standing near a security door, which was emitting smoke. She couldn’t open the door, Szymanski said, and Angulo pulled up on the door until it bent upward and the dead-bolt lock unlatched.
The girl ran out to Angulo, who noticed a baby’s leg on the floor inside the apartment. He then pulled the 10-month-old infant out, Szymanski said.
The children’s grandfather was watching them, he said, and was in a back bedroom.
Crews had the fire under control in fewer than 10 minutes.
Fire investigators determined the fire was an accidental grease fire, which spread quickly across the kitchen, Szymanski said. Damage was estimated at $50,000.
The Red Cross of Southern Nevada is assisting three adults and one child displaced by the fire, Szymanski said.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this story.
