02 February 2004	Monday	10 Zilhaj 1424

LOS ANGELES, Feb 1: The Pakistani father of five children killed in a December blaze filed suit on Thursday against the owners of the apartment complex where they all lived.

A similar suit was filed earlier in behalf of the mother. The family lived at the Bates Town House Apartments in Alvin, Texas, when their unit caught fire and burned on Dec. 2, 2003. Charania and his wife were home with children Zain, 4; Zohaib, 3; Shafinaz, 2; and twins Aman and Cyra, 2 months old. The parents were asleep downstairs at the time of the fire.

Charania, a clerk in a convenience store, sustained second and third degree burns over a large portion of his body, including his face, chest, arms and back. He pushed his wife out of the second-story window to save her life. She suffered broken bones and a back injury. Charania was burned when he attempted to go back into the apartment to get the children.

Officials in Alvin said the children died of smoke inhalation and burns. They said the fire was not arson. The suit names Shante Investors LLC and MBA Funding LLC, both located in Brazoria County, as well as Judith Cervenka, of Colin County, as defendants in the case.

Houston attorneys Richard Mithoff and Sherri Beckman, who represent Salim Charania, claim the negligence of the rental property owners caused the fire that killed the children on Dec 2.