Ocean Isle Beach House Fire - Investigation

Investigation

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. 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." 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. 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." 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."

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."

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. 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 chimenea. 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. 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. In Columbia, South Carolina, WIS-TV made a copy of the Preliminary Report by North Carolina Bureau of Criminal Investigations available online.