A look at the claims made in four lawsuits against Arthur Square LLC and Capstone Real Estate Services Inc. shed light into the devastating fire that took the lives of three young children and left two residents without a home.

Byron Alfred with VB Attorneys in Houston is representing two fathers whose children lost their lives in the July 4 apartment fire. They include Jerron Pollard, father of 12-year-old Jayden Pollard, an Abraham Lincoln Middle School student and Xavier Clayton, father of Brooklyn McCray, 2, who loved the color pink and whose favorite toys were princesses, according to her obituary. Brayden Handy, 6, also died in the fire and was a first-grade student at Booker T. Washington Elementary School.

Alfred is also representing Kenneth Morgan and Dontae Ellen, tenants at the apartment complex who lived in the same building as the children when the fire occurred.

“At this stage the families are obviously mourning the loss of their children and my job is to investigate, find out what happened ad go from there,” Alfred said. “As far as the investigation goes, I think we already found this was a 100 percent preventable fire and frankly nobody should have been living in that whole building.”

Alfred previously filed a Temporary Restraining Order to “make sure the interests of the families were protected in the investigation.”

The Port Arthur Fire Marshal’s Office is also investigating the fatal fire.

The attorney said the site investigation is completed but lots of evidence has been collected at the apartment complex that is now being preserved. The investigation continues into the electrical components that he suggested caused the fire. A lab investigation is expected to conclude next month.

Background information showed that following Hurricane Harvey last year, which severely damaged the complex, that Arthur Square and Capstone chose to house residents on the second floor while it was renovating other units nearby. The minor children were staying with their mother in an upstairs apartment while apartments on either side were being repaired.

On the night of the fire, the mother, Tikesha McCray, brought one of her children to the hospital because the child was sick and brought along two of her other five children, leaving the remaining children.

The attorney contends that Arthur Square and Capstone employees or agents used the corridor in front of the apartment units as a makeshift storage space for tools, materials and highly combustible materials — which he said is a violation of applicable safety regulations.

“As a result, the July 4^th fire propagated in a manner that created a wall of fire which covered the apartment unit’s front door — the only means of escape for the minor children,” Alfred stated in the lawsuit.

He contends the entire building was uninhabitable and was in no condition to house tenants before the fire occurred.

The apartments’ electrical wiring and components, smoke alarms and other fire safety equipment violated applicable safety regulations, he said adding that there is a recent history of fire safety violations at the complex.

On a different note, McCray’s other three children — ages 1, 8 and 10 — remained with a family member while the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services continues their investigation into the circumstances, according to the media specialist at the agency.