Lynn Armstrong receives a donation from firefighter Brennan Farmer at the site of a condo fire that almost claimed the life of her 5-year-old granddaughter, Maleyah, in North Las Vegas, Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Rushing into a burning two-story home to rescue a 5-year-old girl Saturday morning took only a few moments. But for North Las Vegas Fire Department firefighter Jordan Spears, time seemed to have crawled to a halt.
“They reported that we were there for six minutes,” Spears said Tuesday from the site of the blaze, where the crew returned to offer support to the afflicted family. “It felt like an eternity being inside of there.”
Amid the heartache of losing possessions, there was a cause to rejoice: the child, Maleyah Robinson, who at one point had to be revived and was initially intubated at University Medical Center, was out of danger.
She was taken off a ventilator Monday night, talking and “doing quite well in her road to recovery,” Fire Chief Joseph Calhoun said.
Lynn Armstrong, the child’s grandmother, was watching her three grandchildren when the fire started. Karlycia Osorio, 8, remembers Armstrong’s boyfriend smelling smoke but he was unable to find its source when walking through the home.
But soon sparks popped from the laundry room and “the smoke was strong,” the child recalled during Tuesday’s event. Armstrong was overcome by emotion when listening to her granddaughter speak, and attempted to comfort the child by caressing her hair.
“She means a lot to me,” the girl said about her younger sibling. “We might fight and stuff, but I still love her to death. She’s the best sister I’ve ever had.”
Fire crews were summoned to the condominium at 8:25 a.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Nelson Avenue, near Interstate 15 and Carey Avenue. They arrived within five minutes, Calhoun said. And 21 minutes after the initial call, Maleyah was being treated at UMC, he said.
Spears said that firefighters knew before they arrived that there was a person trapped in the home. Neighbors and Armstrong had sprung into action, officials said, but Maleyah was still inside.
“It was pretty intense when we first showed up,” Spears said. “(But) stepping out of the rig, we were completely prepared for it.”
Knowing someone was trapped, Spears said, some policies and procedures went “by the wayside.” Instead of waiting for flames to be extinguished, he and his partner rushed in and ran upstairs, which was “completely covered by smoke.”
As his partner put out flames, they searched the front rooms where they were told Maleyah might be in. “After searching those two rooms we kind of got discouraged that we weren’t finding anybody,” Spears said.
After extinguishing more of the flames, the air cleared and they found the girl in a back bedroom, Spears said. They carried her out of the house.
Then, like her family, the fire officials were constantly trying to find out about Maleyah’s condition. “It definitely doesn’t leave your mind,” Spears said.
Calhoun added, “As a fire chief, days like this and incidents like this, while they’re a huge tragedy, there (are) so many amazing great things that we can dwell upon and bring up today.”
He was referring to the bravery of his firefighters, Armstrong and the neighbors, who he said risked their lives to help.
“I’m just so thankful that everyone survived, and that they’re going to recover and do well,” said North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown, adding that she had been in contact with the family since Saturday. “This could have turned out a lot worse than it did. But it did not, so I just have to hold on to those blessings and wish this family a speedy recovery.”
Fire Capt. Gary Polk echoed the sentiment.
“Generally, the outcomes are not as positive,” he said about similar incidents. “It’s the one in 100, right? So, it’s the chance for us to really ... get to live what we all signed up for when we originally became firefighters.”
Armstrong, who lived at the destroyed condo for 16 years, said she doesn’t know what’s next, but is most worried about getting her granddaughter out of the hospital. The family has been able to see the girl through video calls made by her mother.
Karlycia said she can’t wait to reunite with Maleyah.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun when she gets out of the hospital,” she said, flashing a smile.
The cause of fire remained under investigation, officials said Tuesday. The initial information suggests the smoke detectors weren’t functioning, officials added.
A GoFundMe campaign was started to support the family.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
