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‘It must have been the angels who let me fly,’ words from mother who survived southwest Las Vegas fire
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‘It must have been the angels who let me fly,’ words from mother who survived southwest Las Vegas fire

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The community is rallying around a family after four of their loved ones were killed in a Southwest Valley house fire last Thursday.

The Clark County coroner confirmed that Ibrahim Adem, 48, Abdul Adem, 43, Anaya Adem, 7, and Aaliyah Adem, 6, all lost their lives in the fire.

A woman and her child were also injured after jumping from a third-story window to escape the flames.

Girma Zaid, a longtime family friend, obtained permission from the family to speak on their behalf.

He says he has known the family for more than a decade, but his connection to them was through Anaya and Aaliyah’s father Abdul – also the husband of the woman who jumped from the third floor, Senait.

Zaid says Abdul was sitting in his office a little over a week ago. Zaid is an Eritrean and Ethiopian community consultant and leader, among other titles.

“Abdul was really interested in working with me, bless his soul,” Zaid said. “He would have taken my inheritance at this point in my life. We talked about it,”

He said Abdul was a community activist, a supporter of his faith and culture and a passionate family man.

“Abdul was to me a gregarious and generous entrepreneur, a businessman, a father, a coach,” Zaid said. “He would take on any task, hold the bull by the horn and meet any challenge.”

He left behind a family now without a husband, father or brother. Zaid says they are still in shock, including his wife Senait.

“In his own words, ‘It must have been the angels who allowed me to fly from the third floor and land on the air conditioning panel, get up and knock on three doors in our neighborhood to try to save our family .’ In other words, apart from the word “miracle”, I don’t know what it is,” he explained.

He says Senait and their five-year-old child are recovering physically but are having emotional difficulties.

In their grief, the family is asking for support from the community and to preserve the legacy of their family members by speaking out about the positive impact they left behind.

“Your legacy will continue. Thank you, my friend, rest in peace,” Zaid said.

The memorial service for all four family members is planned for next week.

The Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation is also collect donations for the family.

You can donate here until November 24, and 100% of donations will be donated to the family affected by the fire.