2007 – Oct 28, Fire, Beach House (young college students), Ocean Isle Beach, NC — 7

— 7  AP. “Investigators Believe Beach House Fire that Killed 7 Students…” Fox, 10-29-2007.

— 7  NFPA. “2007 Multiple-Death Fires.” NFPA Journal, Sep/Oct 2008, p. 58.

— 7  WRAL.com. “Ocean Isle Fire Chief: Flames Were ‘Just So Intense’.” 10-30-2007.

 

Narrative Information

 

Oct 30, WRAL.com: “Ocean Isle Beach. Firefighters responding to the early-morning blaze that took the lives of seven South Carolina college students and injured six others could do little to stop it, the town’s fire chief said Tuesday. ‘They made it inside the house, up the first flight of steps to the first floor, and they said it was just so intense, they knew there was nothing they could do,’ Robert Yoho said. ‘There was fire everywhere – and the heat – they had to back out.’ By the time firefighters arrived at the vacation house at 1 Scotland St., flames had spread to every corner of the house, Yoho said. He believes the fire might have been burning as long as 20 minutes before anyone inside had realized it.

 

“Smoke detectors woke the survivors – and survival, he said, depended largely on what floor on which they were sleeping. ‘All the survivors came from the first floor, with the exception of one, and this is the one that jumped from the third-story window,’ Yoho said.

 

“A lot of the damage to the home is located on the upper floors, the same area investigators have been focusing on to find an official cause to the fire. They were at the scene again Tuesday taking photos and looking for evidence….

“Late Tuesday afternoon, authorities officially identified those killed in the fire: Cassidy Fae Pendley, 18; Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon, 18; Justin Michael Anderson, 19; Travis Lane Cale, 19; Allison Walden, 18; William Rhea, 18 – All students at the University of South Carolina. Emily Lauren Yelton, 18, was a student at Clemson….” (WRAL.com, Raleigh, NC. “Ocean Isle Fire Chief: Flames Were ‘Just So Intense’.” 10-30-2007.)

 

Oct 29, AP: “Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. — For the group of college buddies spending a late-season weekend at a friend’s beach house, the deck overlooking a canal was the center of their good times…. But investigators fear the deck just two blocks from the beach may also have been the starting point of a fast-moving fire that killed seven people, including a group of high school friends who went off to college together….

 

“Mayor Debbie Smith said Monday that investigators believe the fire was likely accidental and started in the rear of the house, either on or near the deck facing the canal on the west side of the house. That side of the residence appeared to be the most heavily damaged….” (Associated Press. “Investigators Believe Beach House Fire that Killed 7 Students was Accidental.” Fox News, 10-29-2007.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Investigators Believe Beach House Fire that Killed 7 Students was Accidental.” Fox News, 10-29-2007. Accessed 5-29-2016 at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/10/29/investigators-believe-beach-house-fire-that-killed-7-students-was-accidental.html

 

National Fire Protection Association. “2007 Multiple-Death Fires.” NFPA Journal, Sep/Oct 2008, pp. 57-63.

 

WRAL.com, Raleigh, NC. “Ocean Isle Fire Chief: Flames Were ‘Just So Intense’.” 10-30-2007. Accessed 5-28-2016 at: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1984175/