Family ‘just trying to pull these kids through’; two adults died in North house fire

“My daughter, Amanda, who has Down syndrome, came running down the hall saying, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’” Kaye Martin said.

“I could see the glow just following her,” she said.

“My husband was in the living room and he woke up,” she said.

It was around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 21.

“He started screaming for the kids. We got five of them out. I thought maybe the others were out because we always told them if anything happens to meet at the car, but we couldn’t get them out,” she said.

The fire at the Martins’ home, located at 433 Carolina Ave. in North, claimed the lives of Stanley Martin, 32, and Nikki Martin, who would’ve turned 24 on Jan. 6.

Nikki Martin was autistic and Stanley Martin had cerebral palsy, seizures and some developmental concerns.

Kaye and her husband, Eddie Martin, adopted Stanley and Nikki when the men were small boys.

Kaye and Eddie Martin’s other five children – who are also adopted and have special needs – are Teddy, 29; Rachel, 28; Amanda, 24; Scooter, 22; and Lizzy, 7.

The Martin family stood out in the rain in their pajamas for about an hour and a half after the fire, Kaye Martin said.

Orangeburg County EMS arrived with an ambulance and took them to a nearby fire station to warm up, she said.

About three hours later, she received news that firefighters found the bodies of her two sons, Stanley and Nikki.

Some of the family’s dogs also didn’t make it out the fire.

Five of the dogs are missing, she said.

Those dogs include: a brown Mexican hairless named Monkey, a 15-year-old white-and-spotted Chihuahua, a white mini-Chihuahua with a hernia on her stomach, a gold mini-Chihuahua and a tiny dog with long brown hair known as Chocolate Chip.

“Everybody has been so good,” she said about the kindness of friends, family and strangers alike.

“It just amazes me,” said Eddie Martin.

“I need a bigger word for ‘amaze,’” he said.

The couple said their Christian faith and trust in Jesus Christ is giving them strength.

They have two biological children and four grandchildren, but decided to start a new family about 20 years ago. They first became foster parents and adopted one special needs child. Since then, they’ve adopted several more special needs children.

The Martins own a home at 729 Mimosa Drive in Gaston, but they’d recently moved to the North home which burned.

They’re now living in their Gaston home.

Eddie Martin said when he got up on Wednesday morning, he noticed that someone delivered a few new mattresses on the porch.

He doesn’t know who did it, but he believes God provided them, he said.

He said, “I didn’t lose my two boys. I know exactly where they are. They were God’s little special children. Their jobs were done here.”

The couple said all of their children’s Christmas gifts were consumed in the fire.

They are trying to create a sense of normalcy and routine for their children.

“We’re just trying to pull these kids through,” Kaye Martin said.

The children enjoy watching television, but the televisions they had burned in the North home. They have one they’re all using at the Gaston home, but would benefit most by having a few extra ones.

They also lost all of their favorite DVDs. And one of the children would like to have a gaming system, such as a Sony PlayStation 1. It doesn’t need to be new, Kaye Martin said.

The children also like to play games on electronic tablets and phones.

She noted they don’t know how to use phones for making calls, they simply like to play games on them.

The family would also like to have DVDs and video games suitable for children.

The couple’s daughters would like a Barbie home. That was something the couple had hoped to give them at Christmas.

In addition, the family needs the following: a stove, a water heater, a freezer, meat, laundry detergent, canned goods and dog food.

The couple said through the generosity of churches, friends, family and strangers they’ve received ample clothes and are grateful.

Funeral services for Stanley and Nikki Martin haven’t been scheduled.

Eddie Martin said a funeral home in Columbia has graciously offered to assist with all needs at no cost.

If anyone would like to assist the family through donations or if they know the whereabouts of the missing dogs, they are asked to call Kaye Martin at 1-803-223-0280 or Eddie Martin at 1-843-372-9041. Donations may also be delivered to their home at 729 Mimosa Drive in Gaston.