OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. — An intense fire ravaged a beach house packed with more than a dozen college students early Sunday, killing seven and leaving little left of the structure but its charred frame and the stilts on which it stood.
Six survivors were hospitalized and released, including one who jumped from the burning home and into a waterway, Mayor Debbie Smith said. The cause was being investigated.
“There were three kids sitting on the ground screaming,” said newspaper deliverer Tim Burns, who called 911 after seeing a column of smoke rising from the house. “There was one guy hanging out the window, and he jumped in the canal. I know he got out because he was yelling for a girl to follow him.”
Burns said he didn’t know whether that girl was able to escape.
Officials at the University of South Carolina said six of the students who died were from the school in Columbia; the seventh attended Clemson University. The six who survived were also from the University of South Carolina. The private home was being used by the owner’s daughter and a group of her friends, Smith said.
Dennis Pruitt, dean of students, said the fire appears to have affected two Greek organizations — the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. The fire struck sometime before 7 a.m. and burned through the first and second floors, leaving only part of the frame standing. The waterfront home — named “Changing Channels” — was built on stilts, forcing firefighters to climb a ladder onto the house’s deck to reach the first living floor.
The house was a total loss.
Dozens of college students who filled at least four houses within a block of the burned home. Winds blowing flames over the water, and not toward any of the other residences on the tightly packed row of vacation homes, kept the fire from spreading. The intense heat kept Burns and others from attempting a rescue, although he said he had to fight to keep several of those who escaped from trying. When he approached the front door, he said, it was too hot to open.
“When I was going up to the entryway, you could hear the windows above me explode,” Burns said. “When I knew the flames had taken over, I don’t think I’ve ever felt as helpless in my life.”
Some of the people in the house had been friends since high school, said Rick Wylie of Greenville, S.C., who identified his son Tripp as the young man who jumped from the burning home.
“He’s in shock,” Wylie said. “It’s just an incomprehensible thing for these parents.”
Authorities erected a blue tarp to block the view of the fire scene, but neighbor Bob Alexander said he saw investigators removing bodies from the remnants of the home early Sunday afternoon.
“It’s terrible to see somebody’s children come out of that house this way,” Alexander said.
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