Arson arrest made in Sunday fire in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Chad Arnold

Isaiah Thomas Adair, 28, was arrested Friday in connection with a Sunday morning fire on Lexington Avenue in Schenectady that left a family of four homeless.

SCHENECTADY — An arrest has been made in connection with a Sunday morning fire that left four people without a home and city fire officials praising the quick actions of a second-grade Zoller elementary student.

Isaiah Thomas Adair, 23, was arrested Friday morning and charged with second-degree arson in connection to a fire at 1465 Lexington Ave. that broke out around 8 a.m. Oct. 24. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

According to court documents, Adair “knowingly, intentionally and feloniously set a fire at the residence with people present” by applying an open flame to “available combustibles.”

Adair was arraigned in City Court Friday afternoon and sent to County Jail on $35,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond after Judge Teneka E. Frost ruled he was a flight risk.

A public defender assigned to Adair requested he be released so he could continue to undergo mental health treatment he has been receiving in Albany, adding he was scheduled to begin a new job on Monday. His attorney also said he had no record of criminal history, but did acknowledge he had several outstanding warrants.

The Sunday morning flames forced a family of four to flee the burning structure, with only one member, Brian Marth, suffering minor injuries.

The family’s oldest daughter, 8-year-old Zoe Marth, was praised Thursday by city firefighters at a brief ceremony at fire headquarters on Veeder Avenue for her quick actions that they and her parents credit with saving the lives of her family.

Days before the fire broke out, firefighters from Engine 4 gave a presentation to Zoller Elementary students about the importance of fire safety and practicing an escape plan in the event of a fire.

Zoe and her younger sister, Guinevere, 5, came home that day and discussed devising an escape plan with their parents, Brian and Sariah.

The family, who relocated to the city from Minnesota and have hopes to rebuild, implemented the plan days later, when Zoe first noticed the flames that broke out on the front porch.

“She was the real hero that day because she talked to her family about the plan,” Lt. Christopher Apa, one of the firefighters who gave the presentation to the Zoller students, said during the ceremony. “They had a plan in place, and on Sunday morning she was the first to become aware and rallied everybody.”

A GoFundMe page has been established to help raise funds for the family.

Adair, meanwhile, is set to appear in court Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m.