Mom and child jumped from a window to escape a Las Vegas fire that killed 2 children and 2 adults

By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two adults and two children were found dead in the charred rubble of a house fire after a mother and another child jumped from a third-floor window to escape flames in a southwest Las Vegas neighborhood, authorities said.

The mother and child were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas with unspecified injuries while firefighters from several cities fought flames before dawn Thursday, said Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, Steinbeck said, adding that neighbors told officials they heard an explosion during the blaze.

The first firefighters to arrive a little after 4 a.m. found “extremely heavy fire blasting out of every window” on the second and third floors of the home, Steinbeck told reporters, and crews trying to enter the front door had to retreat due to heat and flames. The roof, third and second floors later collapsed.

The names of the dead and injured were not immediately disclosed.