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“She is a hero,” says the family of the fire victims, the lawyer
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“She is a hero,” says the family of the fire victims, the lawyer

The family of four people killed in a house fire in the southwest Las Vegas valley continues to mourn their loss as they search for answers.

On Friday, Awet Adem and Alijah Adem sat down with attorney Paul Albright in the offices of Naqvi Injury Law. Albright now represents them after the death of their loved ones.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Abdusalem Adem, 43, also known as Abdul; his brother Ibrahim Adem, 48, known as “Snoop” and Adul’s two daughters, Aaliyah, 6, and Anaya, 7.

They were killed in a house fire that started around 4 a.m. on Oct. 24 at a home on Langhorne Creek St. in the southwest valley. Clark County Fire Department said flames engulfed the home, causing the top two floors to collapse. Abdul’s wife Sunite and their 5-year-old son Amani survived after jumping from an upstairs window.

“She stated that the smoke was dark, deep and she couldn’t really think and see,” said Awet, Abdul and Ibrahim’s brother. “She backed away from the fire coming at her. She saw a window. The only opportunity he had to save his son, who is a hero.”

Awet said he did not know if the other four tried to escape from the window before the floor collapsed.

“She said there was a lot of fire smoke coming up the stairs,” Awet said. “As soon as she came back, she went into the hall, in the middle of the hall from the bedrooms, she said there was a fire of dark smoke, all coming from all places.”

Sunite was in the room with Awet and Alijah at the law office during the interview but refused to speak.

The family suspects the fire started on the second floor.

Sunite and the three children were sleeping in a bedroom on the third floor but were alerted by Ibrahim who lived in the house, according to Awet.

“He – something, smelled fire, or heard fire, or saw fire, woke up, knocked on the door to notify Sunite,” Awet said. “She was sleeping with all three children, to tell her there was fire.”

Abdul was in the house after returning early from a business trip to surprise his daughters in the morning, Awet said. He is believed to have arrived between 11pm and midnight and was in the computer room next to the master bedroom when the fire broke out.

“He’s always surprised, trying to be there, trying to be in the moment,” Awet said. “Abdul is the breadwinner of the family, meaning he traveled, he sacrificed himself. He didn’t just take care of his own family. It helped me in life. It helped my own son.”

Abdul, a father of four, worked as a manager for Cox Communications and enjoyed playing basketball, according to a family friend. Robert “Twixx” Taylor who News 3 spoke with Monday.

“My father was, I truly believe, the best father,” said Alijah Adem, Abdul’s 19-year-old son. “Knowing that he would want us to keep his legacy alive and carry on. That’s what keeps me going.”

Alijah shared memories of his half-sister Anaya, who always took care of him.

“Anaya was the sweetest person I’ve ever met,” Alijah said. “I remember him bringing me food all the time. She always asks me, do I need a tissue? do i need water What do I need? She always took care of me.”

As for Aaliyah, 6, he described her as having a big personality.

“So anything that didn’t go his way, or someone has a problem, you’re going to have to go through it to deal with it,” Alijah said. “And my dad already knew that if it didn’t go that way, it was going to be a huge problem.”

Ibrahim was a second father to the girls, often helping with family activities while Abdul was away, according to Awet.

“He’s the one who was able to go to the stores with Sunite, go to the doctors with them, take them out of town, you know, throw them birthday parties,” Awet said. “He did all the planning because he saw them as his own daughters.”

The family was planning to visit Disneyland for the first time. It was Aaliyah’s birthday on October 16th and Anay’s birthday on November 6th.

“Abdul, you know, went out of his way to make sure the girls got the full Disney experience,” Awet said. “So character pictures, princesses, everything. So it’s hard.”

Now the family supports each other, including Sunite, who is a stay-at-home mom.

“She is devastated because she lost her whole family,” Awet said. “Abdul is the breadwinner of the family and Sunite has been the backbone of the family. She doesn’t have her family. She got lost”

The family retained Albright to help investigate the fire, which is expected to last for months.

“We all want answers, and that’s what we’re here to help them do,” Albright said. “We’re helping them go through that process with all the different moving parts that are there,”

The Clark County Fire Department suspected the cause to be accidental. A demolition crew tore down the house on Monday as a safety precaution. A pile of rubble remains, while a memorial with flowers, stuffed animals and other items stands in remembrance.

“I’m there every morning for an hour,” Awet said. “I’m there every night for three to four hours every midnight just to talk to them and it’s unreal.”

The Southern Nevada Burn Foundation is accepting donations on behalf of the victims’ families.