Deadly Old Montreal fire: painful year for victim’s father, who still wants answers
Posted March 15, 2024 9:43 am.
Last Updated March 15, 2024 6:45 pm.
Saniya Mazhar Khan was vacationing in Montreal a year ago, staying in an Airbnb in in Old Montreal when a fire ripped through it.
The 32-year-old American was among seven people, including her long-time friend Dania Zafar from Toronto, who died on March 16, 2023.
Saniya’s father Mazhar Khan says he deeply misses his first-born child. She was a Master’s student in public health at Wayne State University in Detroit.
“I had a very special connection with her because I spent a lot of time with her when she was young, even when she was in medical school,” recounted Khan. “For five years, I used to pick her up and drop her at school.
“I was with her one-on-one basis for one year, that was the last year. And even before that, she was so attached to each other, she would always talk to me with any problem.”
Khan says he thinks of his daughter every day.
“I keep getting reminders of her,” he said. “I still get some mail in her name, every time I go to my post box.
“All what we have are memories, and that’s what we do every day, we remember her somehow or another.
“Whenever we go, we remember her. And so I think for the time being, the memories are what we have right now, we don’t have anything additional.”
It’s been a painful year for Khan, who tells CityNews he’s coping through faith.
“I’m Muslim, as she is as well, so we have a way of tribute which is praying to God for her forgiveness, for her ease in the life hereafter, so that’s what we do, and then we keep charity in her name on her behalf,” the grieving father said.
But a year after the deadly blaze, families of the victims say they’re still without answers.
The circumstances surrounding the fire remain troubling for Khan. Police have determined it was criminal in nature – an arson – after traces of accelerant were found on the scene.
“What we would like to know is why would somebody do that?” he said.
The families of the seven victims are suing the City of Montreal, the building’s owner and the man who had been operating short-term rentals there, which are illegal in the borough. They are seeking $22 million in damages.
But Khan says he feels they are in the exact same position as last year.
“Nothing solid has happened,” he said. “We don’t know when we are going to know what actually happened and why.”
RELATED: Father remembers Dania Zafar, Toronto woman killed in deadly Old Montreal fire
Khan keeps in touch with his friend Zafar Mahmood, the father of victim Dania Zafar, paying him a visit last year in Pakistan.
“We saw Zafar and his wife. I also went to Dania’s grave in the graveyard and prayed for her,” Khan said.
“Dania was special. She was a very nice girl. Very good girl, very respectful, very humble, very down to earth and we miss her a lot as well.”
