House fire in which family died is blamed on candles

Jen Lawson

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

Clark County fire investigators have determined that the fire that killed a mother, father, son and family friend on Jan. 1 was accidentally caused by candles.

Melissa Martin, the 35-year-old mother and wife who died, "was known to keep candles in the room," fire department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

"It was New Year's morning and it's possbile the family was up late and went to bed tired," Leinbach said. The official cause was "accidental misuse or improper location of candles."

Candles are a growing fire hazard, he said. More than 100 fires extinguished by Clark County firefighters since 2000 have been caused by candles. The dollar amount of damage caused by candle fires has reached $2 million, he said.

Last year alone there were 43 candle fires that caused $821,425 in damage to homes in Clark County.

That number was a sharp increase from the year before. In 2000 there were 25 candle fires that caused $330,200 in damage.

"This is a problem," Leinbach said. "Religious or decorative candles should not be left unattended."

Firefighters were called to the Martin family's two-story home in the 9600 block of Rainfall Avenue, near Fort Apache and Spring Mountain roads, just after 4 a.m.

Seven-year-old Madison Martin, the sole survivior of the blaze, told fire investigators that his father, Charles, kicked in the door of the room where he, his 6-year-old brother, Harrison Charles Martin, and a 10-year-old friend Andy Liu of Irvine, Calif., were sleeping and yelled for them to get out.

Madison escaped, but his family and Liu did not.

Firefighters found Melissa Martin in a bathroom adjacent to the master bedroom, where the fire started. Charles Martin, 39, was found in a bathroom connected to the boys' bedroom, Leinbach said.

The two boys never managed to get out of the bedroom where they had been sleeping.

Leinbach said when the adults realized the house was on fire, it's possible they became so overcome with smoke and poisonous gases that they became disoriented and were unable to help themselves or the children.

Fire investigators found smoke detectors in the hallways on both floors, but none was found in the master bedroom, Leinbach said.

It appeared there had been a working smoke detector in the children's bedroom in the past, but the cover had been removed and it did not contain batteries.

Leinbach said citizens should install and maintain smoke detectors and test their batteries at least once a month.

Students at O'Callaghan Middle School raised $2,560 for Madison Martin, a student at Hayes Elementary School, said Leslie Brusa, a Clark County School District spokeswoman.