Boy says dad rescued him from fatal fire

Heather Rawlyk and Ed Koch

Friday, Jan. 2, 2004 | 11:22 a.m.

A 7-year-old Las Vegas boy, who survived a pre-dawn New Year's Day fire that killed his parents, younger brother and best friend, credits the heroic efforts of his father for saving his life.

Madison Martin said his father, Charles, kicked in the door to the room where he, his 6-year-old brother, Harrison Charles Martin, and 10-year-old friend Andy Liu of Irvine, Calif., were sleeping and yelled "Get out, get out now!" Madison's grandmother Victoria Carter said today.

She was repeating her grandson's account of the 4 a.m. blaze Thursday in the 9600 block of Rainfall Avenue near Fort Apache and Spring Mountain roads.

Madison, a second grade student at Hayes Elementary, was released from the University Medical Center about 6 p.m. Thursday. He told his grandmother that his father -- her son-in-law -- was overcome by smoke and collapsed after rousting him from the room.

Madison told his grandmother he believes the other two boys did not follow him because they already had died from inhaling smoke, Victoria Carter said. Madison was treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries at UMC.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said that reports fire investigators have received are consistent with the boy's account. He said the investigation is continuing. The fire started in the parents' master bedroom on the second floor, not in the room where the boys were sleeping, he said.

The child's grandfathter, Garry Carter, said he and his wife will raise Madison, whom they described this morning as being in shock but accepting of the fact that his friend and family are dead. The boy was sleeping comfortably this morning, they said.

"I've lost my family," Victoria Carter said today. "I do not know what I am going to do."

The Carters and the Martins were to go to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., next week -- a trip they had planned for an entire year. Harrison and Madison were on break at their year-round school until February.

The fire also claimed the life of Melissa Martin, 35, who Victoria Carter said was found burned badly in the closet of her bedroom. Leinbach declined to say where any of the bodies were located or which bodies were burned.

Andy Liu, who had lived with his grandmother in California, was on holiday visiting his aunt, who is a neighbor of the Martins. He was at the Martin house on a sleepover, Victoria Carter said.

On the morning of the fire, Garry Carter was already awake, battling cold symptoms at 4:30 a.m., when a family friend knocked on his door with the tragic news.

Neighbors said they saw flames coming out of the windows at 4 a.m.

Amanuel Habte, a local cab driver and next door neighbor, said his wife woke him up at 4 a.m., after seeing bright orange light coming through the window.

Habte said he grabbed his two children, ages 8 and 3, and then reached for the phone.

"I grabbed the phone on the way out and called 911," he said. "Our window is so close to theirs, we were worried the flames would get to our house. We ran out to the yard and that's when my wife saw Madison."

Madison was standing alone in the front yard, wearing only the top of his pajamas and underwear, Habte said.

"He was upset and said there was a fire in the house," he said. "He told us that no one was with him and no one followed him out. He tried to run back in the house, but my wife stopped him."

Habte said his wife, Abeba Kebde, wrapped Madison in a blanket and picked him up.

"We couldn't let him run back near the house," Habte said. "We picked him up and all of us ran down the street together. We immediately saw a cop and asked for help."

A Metro Police officer, who was on patrol down the street, was the first to reach the fire, arson investigator Joe Cathey said.

The officer tried to climb up a ladder to the second story window, when he fell and dislocated his shoulder, Lt. Chris Braden said.

Clark County firefighters arrived to put out the flames, but were too late to save anyone in the house.

Madison spent the day at UMC with his grandparents. On the second floor at UMC, the Carters grieved and remembered their lost family members.

"They were a loving family of four," Garry Carter said. "They loved to go to Disneyland. They loved to travel."

Carter said the family enjoyed going to theme parks, and had a season pass to Disneyland in California. The grandfather remembers Harrison as "fearless" when it came to theme park rides.

"(Harrison) couldn't wait to be big enough to ride all of the big rides," Carter said. "He loved them. We were planning to go to the park in Orlando next week. He was so excited."

Carter recalls the day he drove Harrison, a kindergarten student, to Hayes Elementary on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

"When I told him we were going on my Harley, his eyes just lit up," he said. "When we got to his school, he wanted us to sit out front for a while so all the kids could see him on the bike."

The 6-year-old also loved playing on the family computer, Carter said.

"I had just fixed up a computer for him and we just spent the night together two nights ago to play on the computer," he said. "We sat together until 5 a.m. I didn't want to wake my wife, so we went to another bed together."

Carter remembers not wanting to let go of his grandson.

"I put my arms around him and didn't want to let go of him," he said. "This is so hard to think about."

Carter remembers his daughter Melissa, a stay-at-home mom, as a beautiful woman who loved to travel.

"She loved traveling, she was always wanting to go somewhere," he said. "She was a great mother and loved taking her kids to different places."

Carter's son-in-law Charles, who friends and family members called "Chaz," was a doorman at Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and a longtime surfer.

"He loved to surf, that was what he loved," he said. "Chaz grew up on the coast of California near San Diego. He surfed all his life. It was his favorite thing to do."

Melissa was a native Las Vegan and Charles moved to Las Vegas in 1990 after his mother died. He got his job at the Flamingo that year. They were married eight years.

Charles Martin's two sisters, both from California, were on their way to Las Vegas Thursday afternoon, Carter said.

While the cause is still under investigation, firefighters said the wife was a smoker and candles were found in the master bedroom, which may have been a cause.

The three children were sleeping in the front bedroom on the second floor.

Clark County firefighters found four smoke alarms in the two-story house. The smoke alarm in the master bedroom and hallway was too damaged to tell if it was working, Leinbach said, noting that a smoke alarm downstairs was tested and was working.

The smoke alarm that was supposed to be in the children's bedroom was missing, Leinbach said. The fire caused an estimated $100,000 damage, Leinbach said.

The 9600 block of Rainfall Avenue was silent Thursday afternoon, after an evening filled with fire and police sirens.

Neighbors cried and lay flowers in front of the house.

Cynthia Thames, who has lived next door to the Martins for 3 years, said they were a loving family who loved taking trips together.

"This is such a tragedy," she said. "We just can't believe it."

As to how he would deal with the death of his family members, Garry Carter, like his wife, was at a loss for words.

"I don't know what we're going to do," he said. "They were just normal people. It's so hard to lose family like this.

"It wasn't a way to start the New Year. Not like this."

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