Sandra Jones, victim of the Alpine Motel Apartments fire last Saturday, wipes tears away while speaking to the media at the Alpine Family Assistance Center inside the Dula Gym Monday, Dec. 23, 2019.
Monday, Dec. 23, 2019 | 2:55 p.m.
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Sandra Jones, who barely escaped a fire Saturday that left six people dead and 13 injured, said flames were shooting from the front of her apartment building like a “dragon’s mouth” as people jumped or fell from windows to get out.
“I’ll never forget,” said Jones, adding that she was “scared to know” if she knew any of the victims of the deadliest fire in Las Vegas history.
Jones, who lives at the Alpine Motel Apartments, 213 N. Ninth Street, said she woke up to use the bathroom shortly before a nearby first-floor apartment caught fire about 4 a.m. Saturday. She went back to bed, but a rattle on her window made her get back up. That’s when she smelled the smoke.
Jones woke up her friend, Brian Johnson, and the pair rushed to escape the thick smoke that filled the three-story building, she said.
Jones, who has trouble with her knees and feet and often uses a wheelchair, scrambled out of the apartment without her chair or walker. She said she had trouble finding her way out and was nearly overcome by the smoke.
Johnson said the building’s back door was locked and couldn’t be opened, even though “a maintenance guy was trying like crazy” to get it open.
Johnson said today he was tired and mentally drained, “but I’m alive.”
Had she not been awake when the fire started, Jones said, she doesn’t know if she would have escaped. She said she didn’t hear any smoke or fire alarms.
Firefighters responded at 4:13 a.m. to 213 N. Ninth Street to find residents jumping from windows and heavy smoke billowing from the building, officials said.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said three people were found dead in the building and three outside. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone died after falling or jumping from windows.
Of those injured, five were in critical condition, officials said.
Residents reported having no heat and resorting to using stoves for warmth, Szymanski said. The fire is believed to have originated near a stove on the first floor, he said.
Las Vegas Fire Marshal Robert Nolan said the building did not have a central heating system and each apartment had individual air conditioners and heaters.
The fire and conditions at the building were under investigation, officials said. There were no active code enforcement investigations at the time of a blaze, officials said.
Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Michele Fiore said the fire had a “devastating impact” on the community.
The Red Cross was providing survivors with temporary housing for the next few weeks, and staff at the family center were working to find longer-term housing options, she said.
A family assistance center was opened this morning at the Dula Gymnasium, 441 E. Bonanza Road. It was being staffed by the American Red Cross, Clark County Social Services, city personnel and other agencies offering assistance, including housing, trauma intervention and animal control services.
People wanting to help were asked to donate to the Community Healing Fund. Donations can be earmarked for the “Alpine Family Assistance Center” section on the group’s website.
