Family escapes blaze in northwest LV home

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.

The dream of a new life in Las Vegas for an extended family of 13 was interrupted by fire in northwest Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The Clark County Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the five adults and eight children who were left homeless by the blaze at a two-story, five-bedroom home, Red Cross spokeswoman Sharon Tutrone said.

Three of the adults and two children, ages 16 months and 4 years, were home when the fire began about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. None of them was seriously injured, but a 20-year-old woman had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Nancy Ngaue's face was covered in soot when firefighters found her coughing outside the flaming garage shortly after 8:40 a.m. Ngaue was treated and released from University Medical Center Tuesday, hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said.

Ngaue and her family had recently moved from the San Francisco area to Las Vegas to join the Mafi Mafua family at a home on Majestic Rock Circle near Washington Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, authorities said. The Mafuas have lived at the home for about 10 years, but they were not at home when the fire started, Szymanski said.

Fire investigators said the blaze was accidental and led to more than $50,000 in damage to the home. The Ngaues lost their belongings that were stored in the garage, Szymanski said.

Although the fire is considered accidental, fire officials have not ruled out the possibility that careless smoking might have sparked the blaze, Szymanski said.

Nancy Ngaue told fire investigators that she was smoking early in the day and fell asleep on a couch in the garage. She awoke hours later and found the garage filled with black smoke. She went into the house and alerted the others as flames broke through to an upstairs bedroom, Szymanski said.