Fire victim remains in critical condition

The eight-month-old boy rescued from a two-alarm fire Monday afternoon remained in critical condition Tuesday with third-degree burns at University Medical Center's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, fire officials said.

"This is your nightmare, having something handed to you like this," said paramedic Steve Land, who watched his partner take the crying baby from his grandmother's arms while flames shot out of the family's apartment at the Sonoma Shadows complex at East Karen Avenue and Maryland Parkway.

"As much as we don't like that crying sound most of the time, at times like this we like it. It means he has a nice, clean airway."

Within minutes of their arrival, the infant was with Land's partner, paramedic Bill Young, being transported to UMC, Land said.

More than 50 percent of the boy's body was burned, said Scott Allison, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department. There were third-degree burns on his legs, arms, and face that could damage his ability to breathe, Allison said.

"We care a lot about the burns, the burns are important, but maintaining the airway of the patient is most important," said Land. "Inside burns are much worse than outside burns."

When Land visited the family at the hospital Monday night, he said the infant was on a breathing machine.

The child was one of seven people who were medically treated after a two-story apartment caught fire. Six people were hospitalized after the flames destroyed eight units at 1750 E. Karen Ave. An additional four units in the building were damaged by water and smoke, Allison said. A cause has yet to be determined for the blaze.

Neither Las Vegas police nor the Fire Department is sure how the baby got out of the burning building.

Residents at the complex said a neighbor helped pull the baby out of the apartment. Land said after paramedics tended to the infant, bystanders pointed to another victim, who was treated for smoke inhalation, saying that she saved the baby. Paulicia Sheikh, who was at work when the building caught fire, said her roommate, who is her cousin, was the rescuer.

But when Land visited the infant's family at the hospital Monday night, the boy's grandfather told him that he pulled the burning crib out of the building. There were burn marks on the man's palms indicating that he had grabbed the crib, Land said.

A maintenance worker at the apartment complex told his boss that a team of people pulled the crib out of the building, said Deborah O'Keefe, regional marketing manager for Prime Group, the California company that owns the complex. Authorities don't know if the baby was actually in the crib or if the crib was even pulled outside.

Sonoma Shadows resident Maribel Montenegro, 32, and her 5-year-old son, Daniel, escaped the fire by only five minutes, she said Tuesday in Spanish.

The mother was about to drop her son off at her sister's place before going to work, when she noticed smoke billowing from the apartment's rooftop.

"We lost everything," Montenegro said. "My kids didn't go to school today because they didn't have any clothes to wear."

The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted 11 families and 40 people affected by the fire, said spokeswoman Kris Darnall.

The Prime Group has also arranged for displaced residents to stay on their properties.

Firefighters responded to the flames within minutes after receiving the 1:05 p.m. call.

"When we hear that address or anything between the 1700 and 1900 block on Karen, we move fast," Allison said. "We know it's going to be a big fire for us because of the location."

"It's like setting a match box on fire," Allison said of the wood frame complex that has open attic space.

"If you live in a place like that, you definitely have to be fire safe. If there is even the smallest, little bit of fire, you're done," he said.

Monday's fire was the second this year at the 32-building apartment complex constructed by The Spanos Group in 1978, O'Keefe said. She would not attach a financial value to the building, but said part of the structure will have to be torn down and rebuilt.

Most of the buildings in the area were built years ago when fire codes weren't as strict as they are today, Allison said.

Review Journal writer Antonio Planas contributed to this report.