Passersby help rescue woman from central Las Vegas Valley fire

Good Samaritans helped prevent a tragedy after coming across a house fire Tuesday afternoon in the central Las Vegas Valley.

Crews responded to the fire just before 12:30 p.m. on the 1100 block of Doolittle Avenue, near North Martin Luther King and West Lake Mead boulevards, according to the Las Vegas Fire Department.

Also according to the department:

When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke was showing from the one-story wood frame/stucco house. A woman was sitting on the curb and appeared to be injured.

The kitchen was burning heavily, and firefighters had it out in a few minutes. Unattended cooking appears to be the cause.

Smoke alarms were activated, waking the woman, who was in a bedroom. The passersby stopped and helped pull a set of burglar bars off the front of the house, which was blocking her escape.

The woman had several cuts from the window’s broken glass and appeared to suffer from smoke inhalation. She was taken to the trauma unit at University Medical Center. Her condition was considered serious, according to the fire department.

The fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage. The North Las Vegas Fire Department assisted.

There were no reported injuries to first responders.

Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.