Owner of home where 3 died faces complaint

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

City officials are taking action against the owner of a reportedly vacant Ohio home where a fire killed three people late Christmas Eve.

Investigators in Columbus believe a space heater near a mattress caused the blaze that killed a 4-year-old boy, his mother and a man who was staying with them. Firefighters say the landlord did not have a lease with the victims but knew they were in the house, where the gas had been turned off.

A complaint filed Thursday in Franklin County Municipal Court charges owner S. M. Vazirani with a housing-code violation for a different occupied home that lacked heat.

Columbus officials say Vazirani owns multiple properties in the area.

A message left Thursday at a phone number listed for Vazirani was not immediately returned.