Homeless man saves 2 young children from burning apartment

LAS VEGAS (KLAS/CNN) – Firefighters are calling a Las Vegas homeless man a “true hero” after he noticed smoke and rushed to the aid of a 10-month-old and 3-year-old caught in an apartment fire.

Anival Angulo, 36, who is currently homeless, was walking by an apartment building just before noon on Friday when he noticed smoke coming from the building, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters say Angulo went around the building to see what was happening and heard children crying, so he jumped a locked gate into the complex.

There, he saw a 3-year-old standing near the security door in a smoke-filled apartment.

The little girl could not open the door, so Angulo pulled on the steel door until it bent upward, firefighters say. As he did so, the dead-bolt unlatched, and the door opened.

Firefighters say the 3-year-old ran to Angulo and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Through the smoke, Angulo could see the leg of an infant on the floor, so he pulled the infant out of harm’s way.

Both children were taken away from the building to a safe area then to a medical center to be checked for minor smoke inhalation. They are expected to be OK.

Firefighters say without Angulo’s actions, the children probably would have suffered severe smoke inhalation and burns.

“His action certainly saved the children’s life,” wrote Las Vegas Fire & Rescue in a Facebook post.

At the hospital, the 3-year-old told investigators the fire “got big really fast with lots of smoke,” which made her scared. She and the 10-month-old were in the living room when the fire started. Their grandfather, who was watching them, was in a back bedroom.

Fire investigators determined the fire started on the stove in a pan with cooking grease, and it was ruled accidental.

Copyright 2017 KLAS, Las Vegas Fire Rescue via CNN. All rights reserved.