Mom and daughter leap out of flames

Monday, July 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

and Cathy Scott

A pregnant woman who jumped to safety with her young daughter from a burning second-story apartment was in stable condition today after spending the night at University Medical Center.

Clark County Fire Department investigators suspect the Sunday morning fire, which destroyed two apartments and damaged three others, was caused by children lighting fireworks outside another apartment.

Euscbia Membeno, seven months pregnant, was injured when she and her young daughter leaped through a window to escape the flames at the Woodcreek Apartments on Pennwood Avenue near Arville Street.

A neighbor helped break the fall of the pair. He was treated for minor injuries.

Flames were licking at Membeno's apartment walls and "she probably thought her life was in danger," Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Five children, ages 5 months to 15 years, were at home in a nearby apartment without adult supervision when the blaze erupted. "The kids said they knew nothing about the fire, but we have no one else we can pinpoint," Leinbach said.

No charges have been filed in the blaze that caused more than $52,000 in damage. The investigation is continuing.

Neighbors who noticed smoke escaping first-floor windows at 11 a.m. frantically began breaking windows and screaming to alert residents in the vicinity of the fire.

Firefighters credited Membeno for quick thinking, because she soaked herself and her daughter in the shower before fleeing.

The Clark County chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting families, including Membeno and her daughter, who were displaced by the fire.

Three other Las Vegas fires were sparked by fireworks.

Five families were displaced June 30 because of a fire at a home on Craigmont Avenue that caused $70,000 in damage.

Last Monday, a fire at the Tropicana Royale apartments on East Tropicana Avenue caused about $200,000 in damage. Two youths were arrested on arson charges in the fire.

A Thursday night brush fire near Sam Boyd Stadium kept firefighters busy for much of the weekend.

The fire, believed to have been caused by a rocket from the Las Vegas Firemen's Benefit Association fireworks show, charred more than 100 acres of salt cedar and sage before it was finally contained Sunday by more than 150 county, state and federal firefighters.

About half the fire personnel were sent home Sunday as county firefighters maintained a fire line. A trench was dug, separating the fire from potential fuel.

"The fire has no place to go," Leinbach said.

The smoldering brush was being watched today by Bureau of Land Management and Clark County firefighters to make sure there are no flare-ups, Leinbach said.