How might a species which is on the verge of sapience progress to establish a robust tool-using society and later, urban civilisation, on this undifferentiated, fire-prone jungle world?
Stage 1. Cave Dwellers.
The intelligent creatures learn to stay away from jungles and start residing in caves. The basic reason for this is to avoid the deadly flying predators which come out of nowhere and make a swift kill of them. The second reason is to avoid forest fires which spread to vast areas very quickly.
Stage 2. Social People
Living in caves necessitates depending on one another for safety against predators. It also necessitates that the creatures learn to trust each other. Back in the jungle life, it was everybody to himself. Now it's a teamwork.
Stage 3. Stone Craftsmen
The intelligent creatures undergo a rapid evolution focussing on the shape of their arms and hands. Living in caves for a long time, now these creatures learn to throw rocks at predators! A prolonged repetition of this activity gradually initiates an evolutionary change that transforms their hands and arms suitable for throwing rocks.
Stage 4. Communication And Mental Evolution
With teamwork and complex activities as using rocks to chase away predators from cave mouths, it is no surprise that the creatures are learning to communicate more complex messages! "I want a stone". "Go away". "Warning predator at the cave door"! "We go for hunting tomorrow". The influx of such vast array of information also necessitates a quick growth of brain. These are smart beings now! During these times somewhere sometime they invent writing. Caves start getting their share of paintings now onwards.
Stage 5. Fireworks!
Now the creatures learn the use of fire to cook food, to stay warm in winter nights and to protect themselves from predators using fire torches. This also invariably necessitates the use of simple stone tools to cut dry wooden branches for torch building.
Stage 6. Wood People
The creatures learn woodcratfing. Using wood to form not only torches, but weapons including maces, spears (tipped with stones), staffs and even atlatls. Now the creatures start venturing out of the caves for extensive periods.
Stage 7. First Cities
Being able to protect themselves from the flying predators now, the creature build first cities. During this time, they also get to invent the bow and arrow. By this time, they have learnt more than just drawing images. The first formal written language begins!
The rest of social evolution you can design yourself, depending on plot requirements and the planet's environment.