Centralia mother talks about children who died in fire

Sue Tower smiled as she remembered her children Sam, 7, Madeline, 10, and Ben, 12.

“He was full of life and spirit, and so funny, so sweet,” Tower said of her youngest son, Sam. “Those hugs were what I lived for.”

All three children died March 4 when flames tore through the family’s home on Ham Hill Road in Centralia.

Two events are planned to remember the children: a 3 p.m. Saturday service at Evergreen Christian Community in west Olympia, and a celebration of life at 6 p.m. March 23 at Northwest Sports Hub at 701 Allen Ave. in Centralia. Both events are open to anyone who would like to attend.

The Centralia program will likely contain a slideshow, but Sue Tower said she hasn’t planned all of the details yet.

“It’s just a tribute to my children’s life,” she said. “I really hope no one comes in black.”

Instead of cut flowers, Tower also is asking for donations to programs her children were passionate about, or bulbs and trees that will live for years to come.

When speaking with The Chronicle earlier this week, Tower said she wants to thank emergency responders and community members for their help, condolences and generous donations to her and her family. Hundreds of people have attended vigils for the children in Centralia and Olympia.

The day of the fire, the state Senate held a moment of silence, and individual senators expressed their condolences to the family, particularly father Brad Tower, a prominent lobbyist.

Life in Centralia

For Sue Tower, moving to Lewis County from Olympia with her three children was a chance for a new beginning after a difficult divorce.

“We moved back here a year ago to rebuild our lives,” she said. “My kids fell in love with this town and their schools. … It was a really healthy move for us.”

Soon, the family adopted pet chicks and rabbits.

“Ben became the chicken whisperer,” she said. “They all loved their bunnies.”

Maddy often dressed her bunny up in doll clothes and tried to put it on a leash.

Tower said the rabbits have run loose in the neighborhood since the fire. “Ham Hill is going to become bunny hill this spring,” she said.

All three children excelled in school.

“That’s not because it was easy,” she said. “That’s just the kind of people they were.”

Tower praised the staffs of the children’s schools — Washington and Edison elementary schools.

The Towers were actually planning to move from the house on Ham Hill before the fire, she said. The children made her promise to keep them in their school district.

Tower recalled how Maddy and a close friend would sit and read together on play dates.

“That has definitely been her personality from just a little tyke,” she said.

She and Maddy were planning on looking into art classes.

Sam was Tower’s youngest and a class clown, she said. “Sam has more energy than anyone can imagine,” she said.

The 7-year-old loved playing soccer and doing flips on their trampoline.

“I’m very, incredibly proud of them,” she said. “It has not been an easy year and a half, and their light shone through.”

Going forward, Tower said she plans to honor her children’s memories by promoting things they were passionate about, such as the Cispus Learning Center, reading, swimming and their schools.

She is working with Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund and Centralia Community Development director Emil Pierson to create a memorial bench for the children.

Fire still a mystery

Maddy Tower’s blue-ribbon-winning drawing about fire safety was hanging on the wall of her family’s home the night it burned down.

“You don’t think about these things until a tragedy happens,” Tower said.

At 12:45 a.m. March 4, fire crews and police responded to the fire, climbing onto the home’s roof in an effort to reach the children’s bedrooms. Tower, who was sleeping on the first floor, tried to reach her children but was driven back by smoke and flames.

Tower said the home had electrical problems. Circuit breakers often tripped, cutting off power to half the house, she said.

Tower has been assisting firefighters and police with the investigation into the fire’s cause, scrutinizing every detail of the night of the fire.

She said she sometimes burned candles, but not that night.

“I’ve had to be up there about every day since the fire,” she said.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Centralia Police Department.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Centralia mother talks about children who died in fire."