Fundraiser for Dundalk house fire reaches goal

First published Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 in the Dundalk Eagle.

Less than two weeks after an early-morning fire raged in a Dundalk house, killing an eight-year-old and nine cats, a fundraiser started for the Mars family has already exceeded its $30,000 goal. On Tuesday afternoon, over $31,000 had been raised for the family.

Neighbor Zack Richardson has started a new fundraiser to support the family’s burial costs and celebrate the life of the eight-year-old, Nolan Mars. Nolan’s heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas and corneas were donated, according to the fundraiser.

An electrical malfunction caused the early morning fire at 3020 Dunleer Road, the Baltimore County Fire Department ruled. Fire engines lined the street by 3:44 a.m., according to the fire department.

By 4 a.m., radio traffic indicates, firefighters had rescued Nolan from the second floor of the burning house. He was suffering from a cardiac arrest. Richardson, the neighbor, said his body was “limp” as firefighters carried it out.

Paramedics immediately brought him to the hospital, according to the fire department, but it was too late to save Nolan. He died five days after the fire on Sept. 9.

“Born on Feb. 8, 2016, Nolan lived a short but impactful life for all that were honored to meet him,” his obituary reads. “His smile, his laugh, his good hearted nature and free spirit was infectious.”

Nolan was a student at Dundalk Elementary School. His death has left children at the school “sad and confused,” Principal Jennifer Pilarski said in a short interview Tuesday.

“Nolan was an amazing kid,” she said. “The school is grieving.”

The school has started collecting clothes for the family and is coordinating with the schools Nolan’s four siblings attend, Pilarski added.

Only one dog survived the blaze, said Kevin Mars, Nolan’s father. Nine cats died, according to the fire department. Mars and four other children in the house escaped with “minor” injuries, the fire department said.

Despite the dramatic scene, few signs of tragedy remained just a few hours later on Sept. 4. The only hints that remained were charred grass, boarded up windows, small pieces of glass strewn around the outside of the house and the back of packaging for an oxygen mask. A faint smell of burning lingered if you got close enough. Even closer, burned wood was visible.

The birds in the tree next to the house kept chirping.

By Sept. 10, the oxygen mask packaging had been removed. In addition to a sign directing people to drop off packages at Richardson’s house, a sign warning visitors that “any alteration or removal of items in this area” would be punished because an ongoing fire investigation was taking place was visible.

Six days later on Monday, Sept. 16, ash still lined the front entrance and small piles of broken glass laid on the ground.

“The support has been amazing and unexpected but sometimes uncomfortable,” Kevin Mars wrote in a text to the Eagle, “being we’re usually quiet people.”