Teenage girl escapes house fire

Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001 | 9:48 a.m.

A 17-year-old girl leaped from a second-story window to the ground to escape a predawn house fire today in southeast Clark County that caused $300,000 damage and killed several family pets, the Clark County Fire Department said.

The fire occurred just before 5 a.m. in the house at 4124 Santa Terresa Place near East Flamingo Road and U.S. 95. It was fully involved when firefighters arrived, CCFD spokesman Steve La-Sky said.

The girl, home alone at the time, awoke to her dog whining. She told firefighters she heard crackling sounds and the house started shaking.

As smoke and flames licked under the door to her second-story bedroom, she was able to swing open the security bars from a window and leap to safety as one pet cat followed her out, La-Sky said.

"She was very lucky because they were old-style bars that people often cannot get open during a fire," La-Sky said. "Fortunately, her father had rigged the bars by removing a screw so that she could swing the bars open."

The dog who saved the girl's life perished in the blaze, as did several other cats, La-Sky said. The girl, whose name was not released, suffered bumps and bruises.

Investigators believe a leaking or overflowing toilet sent water down into the walls of the kitchen, where wires shorted out, sparking the fire that totally destroyed the house.

The girl, whose parents were out of town attending a Halloween function, was given $500 from the Clark County Firefighters Burn Foundation to assist her in getting food and shelter.