Man rescued from burning apartment

It's not every day that a trip back from the store turns into a chance to be a hero.

Rolando Fernandez Jr. was driving back Wednesday afternoon from a quick visit to a 7-Eleven when he saw Desert Rose apartment buildings on fire.

Yelling for help, the 20-year-old Fernandez got out of his car and ran toward the building.

Fernandez entered an apartment with chest-high flames and, seeing a man inside, went into action.

"I just grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him out," Fernandez said later, shaking from the cold, or the adrenaline, or both.

The man he pulled out, whom Fernandez referred to as Steve, was taken to University Medical Center with second-degree facial burns. No last name was available.

After getting Steve out of the apartment, Fernandez and Giuseppe Lomagno, a 41-year-old friend whom Fernandez was visiting at Desert Rose, went to other apartments, trying to make sure no one else was in danger.

"(Giuseppe) is bigger than I am, so he was kicking doors down," Fernandez said. "I was just banging on them."

Lomagno -- who, according to Fernandez, has been dealing with the flu -- passed out from smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital, but was released shortly thereafter.

The fire, at 29 N. 28th St., was called in to the Las Vegas Fire Department at 1:52 p.m. and controlled within 15 minutes of firefighters' arrival, spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The fire damaged 12 apartments in two buildings. Sixteen residents were evacuated and 12 residents were displaced. Management officials expressed confidence that those displaced would have a place to stay in available apartments at the complex, Szymanski said.

Officials did not know the cause of the fire.

Contact reporter Scott Spjut at sspjut@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.