“She’s a hero”; Family of home fire victims speaks out and hires lawyer

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The family of four people killed in a house fire in the southwest Las Vegas Valley continues to mourn their loss and seek answers.

On Friday, Avet Adem and Alijah Adem met with attorney Paul Albright at the office of personal injury attorney Naqvi. Albright now represents them after the death of their loved ones.

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

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

“She stated that the smoke was dark and deep and she could not think or see,” said Avet, Abdul and Ibrahim’s brother. “She just backed away from the fire coming towards her. She saw a window. The only opportunity she had was to save her son, and that’s her—she’s a hero.”

Avet said he did not know whether the four others tried to escape from the window before the floor collapsed.

“She said there was a lot of fire smoke coming up the stairs,” Avet said. “As soon as she turned and walked down the hall, into the middle of the hallway of bedrooms, she said there was dark smoke coming from everywhere.”

Suneet was in the room with Avet and Aliya at the lawyer’s office during the interview, but refused to talk.

The family believes the fire started on the second floor.

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

“He… something, smelled fire, or heard fire, or saw fire, woke up, knocked on the door to tell the Sunnis,” Avet said. “She slept with all three children to let her know there was a fire.”

According to Avet, Abdul was at home after returning early from a business trip to surprise his daughters in the morning. He is believed to have arrived between 11pm and midnight and was in the computer room next to the master bedroom when the fire started.

“He’s always surprising, trying to be there, trying to be in the moment,” Avet said. “Abdul is the breadwinner of the family, that is, he traveled, he sacrificed himself. He cared about more than just his family. He helped me in life. He helped my son.”

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

“I truly believe my father was the best father,” said Alijah Adem, Abdul’s 19-year-old son. “Knowing that he wants us to carry on his legacy and wants us to continue to move forward. This is what keeps me going.”

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

“Anaya was the sweetest person I have ever known,” Elijah said. “I remember her bringing me food all the time. She always asks, “Do I need a tissue?” Do I need water? Like, what do I need? She always took care of me.”

As for six-year-old Aaliyah, he described her as an outstanding person.

“So something went wrong or someone has a problem, you have to go through it to deal with it,” Elijah said. “And my father already knew that if things didn’t go the way she wanted, it would be a huge problem.”

According to Avet, Ibrahim was a second father to the girls and often helped with family matters while Abdul was away.

“He’s the one who would take Sunite to the stores, go to the doctors with them, take them out of town, you know, throw them birthday parties,” Avet said. “He planned everything because he looked at them as his daughters.”

The family was planning to visit Disneyland for the first time. October 16 was Aliya’s birthday, and November 6 was Anay’s birthday.

“Abdul, you know, made sure the girls had the full Disney experience,” Avet said. “So, pictures with characters, princesses, everything else. So it’s hard.”

Now the family supports each other, including Sunita, a stay-at-home mother.

“She’s devastated because she lost her whole family,” Avet said. “Abdul is the breadwinner and Sunita is the backbone of the family. She doesn’t have her own family. She’s lost”

The family has hired Albright to help with the fire investigation, which is expected to take several months.

“We all want answers, and we’re here to help them get that,” Albright said. “We help them through the process with every possible moving part.”

The Clark County Fire Department suspected the cause to be accidental. On Monday, demolition crews tore down the house for safety reasons. He remains a heap of rubble, and in his memory stands a memorial of flowers, stuffed animals and other items.

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

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