One of five children evacuated from a Woodside Drive apartment is comforted by a friend Friday afternoon following a fire that destroyed one room of the family's apartment.
The cries of her 12-year-old neighbor alerted Tina Hill to a fire in a Woodside Drive apartment on Friday afternoon.
"I saw the young girl on the roof, and then I heard her screaming there was a fire," Hill said. "I dialed 911, and the fire department got here really quickly."
Twelve-year-old Jarelle Ramos said she didn't even have to think about what to do.
"I opened my door and saw the smoke in the hallway, so I went back into my room. I climbed out the window onto the roof and started yelling," Ramos said. "It was really scary, I didn't think it was real. I just kept saying, 'This can't be real.'"
Hill said she was just glad to be able to help.
"There was a lot of smoke, so we are just happy that everyone got out safe," Hill said.
The fire started just after 3 p.m. Friday in a bedroom of the apartment and was extinguished 10 minutes later, according to Carson City Fire Department Battalion Chief Richard Chrzanowski.
Seven members of the Ramos family, including a 1-month-old baby girl, were able to get out of the apartment without injury. Jarelle was rescued from the roof by another neighbor using a ladder.
Power was shut off to the surrounding apartments while the fire department checked to make sure the fire hadn't spread and for other potential problems.
The family was not let back in Friday night, because utilities had been shut off as a precaution.
One room of the five-room apartment was damaged by smoke, other rooms were damaged as firefighters looked to see if the fire had spread.
Repairs will be up to the property owner and a long-term solution for the family has not been worked out, said Chrzanowski.
The cause and cost of the fire is still under investigation.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.