Two-story apartment blaze injures two

By Mary Manning

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 | 9:58 a.m.

After dropping several pets out a second-story window, two people jumped to the ground themselves to escape flames, while two other people had to be rescued by firefighters during a North Las Vegas apartment building blaze this morning.

A smoke alarm went off about 6:27 a.m. today, rousing people inside a downstairs apartment of the building, located near Owens and Eastern avenues, said Tim Szymanski, spokesman for the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

When firefighters arrived at Wood Ridge Villas at 1591 Chartered Circle, the downstairs apartment was full of flames and heavy smoke, with fire extending to the apartment above and one across the hall upstairs, Szymanski said. The two people and their pets who had jumped from the second story were not harmed, he said.

However, firefighters had to climb ladders and rescue two other people from upstairs apartments, Szymanski said. One person suffered cuts on the hands from broken glass and another who had smoke inhalation were treated by paramedics at the scene, Szymanski said.

Firefighters doused the flames in less than 10 minutes, Szymanski said. The apartment building has 16 units.

The people in the apartment where the fire ignited told fire investigators that the smoke alarm woke them up and, as they escaped, they said it appeared the area around a television set in the living room was on fire, Szymanski said. There were several appliances around the TV as well, he said. The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental, although the exact ignition source could not be determined, he said.

Estimated damages from three apartments damaged, one gutted and two affected by smoke and flames, is estimated at $75,000, Szymanski said.

The Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting seven adults and three children who were displaced from their homes because of the fire, he said.