“She’s a hero”; family of house fire victims speaks and retains lawyer

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The family of the four people killed in a house fire in Las Vegas’ southwest valley continue to mourn their loss as they search for answers.

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

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

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

“She said the smoke was dark and deep and she couldn’t really think or see,” said Awet, brother of Abdul and Ibrahim. “She just backed away from the fire coming towards her. She saw a window. The only chance she had to save her son, and he is a hero.”

Awet said he does not know if 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,” Awet said. “As soon as she turned around and went into the hallway, right in the hallway of the bedrooms, she said there was dark smoke, all coming from all places.”

Sunite was in the room with Awet and Alijah at the law firm during the interview, but declined to say anything.

The family suspects that the fire started on the second floor.

Sunite and the three children slept in a bedroom on the third floor, but Awet said they were alerted by Ibrahim who lived in the house.

“He – something, smelled fire, heard the fire, or saw the fire, woke up and knocked on the door to let Sunite know,” Awet said. “She slept with all three children to let her know there was a fire.”

Abdul was home after returning early from a business trip to surprise his daughters in the morning, Awet said. It is believed he arrived between 11pm and midnight and was in the computer room, near 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, which means he traveled and made sacrifices. He didn’t just take care of his own family. He helped me in life. He 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 on Monday.

“I think my father was really the best father,” said Alijah Adem, Abdul’s 19-year-old son. “Knowing that he would want us to keep his legacy alive and keep going. 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 have ever known,” Alijah said. “I remember her bringing me food all the time. She always asks: do I need a napkin? Do I need water? What do I need? She always took care of me.”

As for six-year-old Aaliyah, he described her as having a big personality.

“So if something hasn’t gone your way, or if someone has a problem, you’re going to have to go through her to get it resolved,” Alijah said. “And my father already knew that if things didn’t go the way she wanted, it would be a big problem.”

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

“He’s the one who could take Sunite to shops, take them to doctors, take them out of town, throw birthday parties for them,” Awet said. “He did all the planning because he considered them his own daughters.”

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

“Abdul has gone above and beyond to ensure the girls have the full Disney experience,” Awet said. “So pictures with characters, princesses, everything. So it’s tough.”

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

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

The family enlisted Albright to assist with the fire investigation, which is expected to take months.

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

The Clark County Fire Department suspected the cause was an accident. For safety reasons, a demolition crew demolished the house on Monday. It remains a pile of rubble, while a memorial with flowers, cuddly toys and other objects stands in his memory.

“I’m there every morning for an hour,” Awet said. “I’m there every night for three to four hours, in the middle of the night, just talking to them and it’s surreal.”

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