A homeless man is credited with saving the lives of a three-year-old girl and 10-month-old baby boy who became trapped in a burning Las Vegas apartment building on Friday.
Anival Angulo was walking on East Mesquite Ave around 11:30am when he noticed smoke coming from a squat beige apartment building.
The 36-year-old homeless man then heard the cries of children coming from the building and jumped into action.
Homeless man Anival Angulo, 36 (pictured), rescued a toddler girl and a baby boy from a burning apartment on Friday
Angulo jumped into action late Friday morning, when he saw smoke coming from this Las Vegas apartment
He ripped the security gate off of this home to rescue a three-year-old girl and 10-month-old boy trapped inside
The fire started in the kitchen, where some grease caught fire. The children were being watched by their grandfather at the time, who became trapped in the back of the house
He found that the cries were coming from the home’s living room, where he could see a little girl struggling to get out – unable to open the home’s security gate.
‘I just knew I had to get them out,’ he told local News 3 Las Vegas.
Unable to unlock the door from the outside, Angulo started ripping the door from its frame and eventually the deadbolt unlocked.
‘The little girl ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist,’ Las Vegas Fire & Rescue said in a statement about the incident.
After rescuing the little girl, Angulo noticed the leg of an infant back inside the house, so he braved the flames and pulled a baby boy to safety as well.
Other Good Samaritans helped the grandfather escape through a back window of the home
The fire gutted the kitchen and living room and caused about $50,00 in damage
The Red Cross says its helping three adults displaced by the fire
Fire officials called Angulo a ‘TRUE HERO’ and said without his help, the children likely would have died
Soon after, firefighters arrived at the scene and were able to put the blaze out in about 10 minutes.
Fire officials say that without Angulo’s help, the two kids likely would have died. Instead, they were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and are expected to survive.
‘Without the quick action of Angulo, the children would have probably suffered severe smoke inhalation with burns. His action certainly saved the children’s life,’ the fire department said.
The fire department called Angulo ‘a TRUE HERO’.
The fire started in the kitchen, where some cooking grease ignited.
The kids were being watched by their grandfather at the time, but the fire spread so fast that it effectively cut through half the building and he wasn’t able to get to where they were.
Other Good Samaritans helped him escape through a window at the rear of the home.
The fire gutted the kitchen and living room and caused about $50,000 in damage. The Red Cross says its helping three adults and a child who were displaced by the fire.