FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man is dead after becoming trapped inside his mobile home when it caught fire in Fayette County early Wednesday morning.
The call for the fire in the 400 block of Bolden Road in Franklin Township came into dispatchers around 1:40 a.m.
Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker identified the man who was killed as 73-year-old Denton Martin.
“He was a good man. I’ll love him forever,” said Martin’s granddaughter, Hannah Kemp. “He would always tell me, next time I see you l’m gonna give you a thousand hugs and a thousand kisses.”
Kemp says her grandfather was known for his heart.
“Every year he would grow out his beard, big, white bushy beard. And he would play Santa Claus at nursing homes,” she said.
As the family reflects on Martin’s life, Kemp says they are looking for answers.
“I tried to help him get the assistance program for the oil, and with the government being shut down, they didn’t approve it, so he didn’t have oil. So he had to resort to a wood burner in the house. So they said that’s what started the fire- the wood burner started the fire.”
They’re also looking to preserve the things he loved in his memory.
“There is a corvette in the garage and that was his pride and joy. He loved it so we’re going to figure out a way to get everything of his, what’s left out of the house.”
Officials on scene told Channel 11 that the fire appears to be accidental. The state police fire marshal investigation is ongoing.
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