Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 | 1:08 p.m.
A woman who set her bed on fire shortly after midnight Wednesday morning and then called 911 so firefighters could rescue her three children had been arrested two months ago on a charge of domestic violence, Metro Police.
Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya said 27-year-old Tiara D. McCarver is in custody at Desert Springs Hospital being treated for smoke inhalation.
Montoya said he had no details about the previous arrest.
Police are charging her with three counts of child endangerment, but her 5, 7 and 10-year-old children were out of the apartment before flames erupted in McCarver's bedroom, said Scott Allison, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department.
Firefighters had to forcefully remove McCarver from the second-floor apartment at 5710 E. Tropicana Ave., near Boulder Highway, Allison said.
County fire investigators charged her with first-degree arson because in addition to her children, she endangered seven other apartments in the complex, Allison said.
"She phoned 911 and said, 'I'm going to kill myself. I don't want to live anymore. Come get my children,' that's what she said," Allison said.
The children are in the care of Child Protective Services.
A family living below the McCarver apartment had water damage and the American Red Cross came to assist them, Allison said.
County firefighters fought thick smoke and intense flames, but confined the fire to the one apartment, Allison said. Firefighters contained and quickly extinguished the blaze, he said.
"An arsonist does not set well with us," Allison said.
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