Ocean Isle Beach house fire

The three-story frame beach house, which was raised on stilts with an additional ground floor for parking, was situated on the barrier island portion of Ocean Isle Beach, adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. Although smoke alarms were present and had activated within the house, it had no sprinkler system or alarm monitoring system, neither of which were required by building codes or local laws. Survivors of the fire said smoke detectors woke them "with only moments to escape."^{[citation needed]}

Witnesses heard the smoke alarms sounding as the house became fully involved on the windy morning before the first units of the local Fire Department arrived on scene four minutes after notification. Seeing the smoke, the first responding units immediately called for additional manpower by radio during their approach even before they arrived on scene.^[1]

Five students who were on the home's first floor got out. Only one occupant of the second floor, a male, was able to escape. He jumped from a window at the equivalent of a third-story height into a canal located adjacent to the edge of the property. There were some reports that a second male student also escaped through a lower floor window.^{[citation needed]}

Town Fire Chief Robert Yoho stated that who survived and who did not seemed to be almost entirely based upon where they were in the house when awakened by the smoke alarms. "All the survivors came from the first floor, with the exception of one, and that is the one that jumped from the third-story window" he told a reporter from WRAL-TV.^[2]

Even before the fire department arrived, witnesses stated that it would have been impossible to gain entry and rescue anyone still inside, although firefighters initially made an unsuccessful attempt to do so. A home video camera recording taken from about a block away showed the house enveloped in flames as the first fire trucks could be heard arriving. Broadcast of the audio of the 911 calls and the home video on television news media and the Internet drew international publicity to the fire, as did photos of the devastation and interviews with eyewitnesses and community leaders in the aftermath.^{[citation needed]}

Six of the USC students were killed, as well as the student from Clemson University. Although families of those apparently killed were all notified of the likelihood of the deaths, the bodies were all taken to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for positive identification. The six survivors were all treated at a local hospital for various minor injuries, and released. One of the surviving students was hospitalized again later Sunday night in her hometown for the effects of smoke inhalation.^{[citation needed]}

Late Tuesday afternoon, authorities officially identified the seven teenagers killed in the fire: Cassidy Fae Pendley, 18; Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon, 18; Justin Michael Anderson, 19; Travis Lane Cale, 19; Allison Walden, 19; William Rhea, 18—all students at the University of South Carolina. Emily Lauren Yelton, 19, was a student at Clemson.^[2][3]

Six of the thirteen students were able to escape the house with minor injuries. Andrew Rhea, 19, escaped the house but lost his younger brother William in the fire. Another survivor, Tripp Wylie, a 20-year-old University of South Carolina sophomore, said he jumped out of a third-story window into a canal to escape the flames but was unable to get back in to help his friends. Wylie was the only student on the upper level of the house to escape.^{[citation needed]}

The cause of the fire was under investigation immediately afterwards by state and federal ATF teams. On October 29, the Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith reported to the news media that she had been told that the initial indications were that the fire had been accidental in origin, and that it probably had started somewhere near the rear of the home or deck at the western side of the house.^[4] The next day, ATF spokesman Earl Woodham confirmed that its agents ruled out arson, stating "There is no indication that this fire was deliberately set."^[5] The investigation was continuing as October 30.

Ocean Isle Beach Fire Department Chief Robert Yoho said the house might have been burning for as long as 20 minutes before any emergency personnel arrived.^[6] The morning of the fire was windy, apparently an aggravating factor in the quickness it spread. Yoho commented: "with the wind, it just basically feeds the fire."^[1] USC vice president of student affairs Dennis Pruitt later commented that the fact the house was built on stilts, which allowed air to fuel the flames and that it caught fire after a stretch of dry weather, was "a sad series of coincidences."^[7]

Later in the week, North Carolina's Chief Medical Examiner said smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning had killed all seven victims. "There was no evidence of any other injuries," Dr. John Butts told The Associated Press. It was explained to one parent that "they died in their sleep and not from the burns. He was told that the victims were all on the second floor and that they were all in their beds. In recalling the conversation with another medical examiner in Chapel Hill, the parent told a reporter: "She said it came very fast, that carbon monoxide comes before the smoke. She said they would have only taken just a few breaths of the carbon monoxide."^[8]

On November 2, agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) concluded their preliminary investigation of the fire scene.^[9] That afternoon, Ocean Isle Beach mayor Debbie Smith announced at a scheduled press conference that the investigation had failed to firmly establish the cause of the fire. She said it was determined that the fire started on the back deck of the three-level beach house, but the extensive damage made it impossible to say exactly what sparked the flames. Investigators specifically ruled out a grill and an outdoor fireplace, known as a chimney. However, investigators could not rule out that the fire started because smoking materials were improperly discarded, and there have been no reports of any other possible ignition sources, although investigators found absolutely no evidence of arson.^[10] A special agent of the NC-BCI told media sources that survivors reported that some of the students had been smoking cigarettes, but that no illegal drugs were at the house.^[11] In Columbia, South Carolina, WIS-TV made a copy of the Preliminary Report by North Carolina Bureau of Criminal Investigations available online.^[12][13]

Ocean Isle Beach officials and citizens responded to the scene expressing both shock over unprecedented tragedy in the small community and offered concern and support to families and to other students. Between 35 and 50 students from the University of North Carolina had been staying at other homes close by for a service event of their fraternal organization, and had interacted socially with the occupants of the house that burned earlier in the weekend. Some of these students had witnessed the fire and aftermath.

At the end of the week, the burned-out house stood visible behind a safety fence. Nearby, an aluminum cross made by three area residents and surrounded by seven small crosses, one for each fire victim, was the centerpiece of an impromptu memorial of flowers and other items such as stuffed animals and personal notes of condolences were placed by residents and neighbors of Ocean Isle Beach and the surrounding community.^[14] Across North and South Carolina, and in Ohio, funeral and memorial services were held for those who died. In South Carolina, The State.com website created a memorial audio/slideshow presentation.^[15][16]

Upon learning of the disaster Sunday morning, a USC official flew to the scene to assist local authorities, students and families. Meanwhile, at Ocean Isle Beach, church leaders and social workers remained close by all day to offer grief counseling and other support as might be needed, even as the universities back in South Carolina prepared to do so as well. Other Ocean Isle Beach residents brought food and drinks to share with those working on the grim task of removing the victims and others handling duties on-site. Fire Chief Yoho said that counseling and support will also be made available for his firefighters, especially some of the younger ones involved in recovering the victims.^[2]

Local news media reported that the beach house was torn down the week of November 19. By Thanksgiving Day, all that was left at the scene was an empty, sand-filled lot.^[17]