‘I wish they got out instead of me’
Teen recounts the Lynn Valley apartment fire that killed his mother and brother, injured others
When flames rushed through the front door into the hallway of the family townhouse, 14-year-old Sohail Koshkoye Delshad ran to the master bedroom, alongside his mother and brother.
Fire eventually engulfed the interior of the apartment. Sohail cracked open a bug screen in order to jump out the window and fall onto the trampoline below.
“I took my brother and tried to push him onto the trampoline ... (but) he whipped his head back, because he was scared,” Sohail said, fighting back tears.
At that moment Sohail fell down, surrounded by smoke and unable to speak or breathe. Fumes obstructed his vision and he could no longer find the others. Eventually the only choice was to jump.
As a flower memorial for the victims of the North Vancouver apartment fire grows on scene, the teen survivor who lost his mother and brother recounts a night of devastation.
“I wish they got out instead of me,” he said. “I don’t care about the apartment, I don’t care about the possessions I lost. I just wish my mom and brother got out.”
His father, who was separated from the rest of the family and cornered on the balcony, also managed to jump and survive.
Sohail described seeing a propane tank exploding just moments after his father landed on the ground. North Vancouver RCMP said flames were 100 feet in the air by the time first responders got to the scene.
His seven-year-old brother Sepehr and mother Narges Casnajad were killed before they could jump.
“My mom couldn’t live without my brother and my brother couldn’t live without my mom.”
His father remains in hospital for more extensive burns on his arms and legs.
On Tuesday, Sohail stopped by the complex playground to read messages and flowers the community had brought to the scene.
“She was so kind,” he said of his mother. “Even if everybody else was sad, she made everybody else happy.”
Narges Casnajad is remembered as a supportive and caring mother and neighbour, by her friends and family.
“She was a person that always supported every person, everybody in the community,” said Leila Negahban, who has known the family for some years.
“And her son was friends with my son.”
A GoFundMe campaign dedicated to Sohail and his family was set up by friends from his high school.
A separate GoFundMe campaign collecting money for the victims of the fire was launched by Jacqueline Diamond — a North Vancouver resident who previously lived in the Mountain Village Garden Apartments.
In an interview with Postmedia, she recounted memories she had of Casnajad.
“I remember when I first met her, it was at the dollar store where she worked,” Diamond said.
“She always used to give my daughter balloons. She was just such a happy person — and her smile just brightened you up.”
A recovery meeting is scheduled for June 13 at Karen Magnussen Community Centre, with the District of North Vancouver asking anyone affected by the incident to attend.
Representatives from the district, North Shore Emergency Management, the Canadian Red Cross and emergency services will provided updated information, and support for those in need.
Sixteen people were put in hospital after the fire. About 70 people were permanently displaced, with extensive damage to 17 properties.
The North Vancouver RCMP Arson Unit, District of North Vancouver Fire Dept. and the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating. The cause of the fire remains unknown.