TheState.com: Deadly Ocean Isle Fire

Ocean Isle Memorial: ‘Everybody will see it,’ and remember

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:06 EDT

OCEAN ISLE BEACH — Genie Lee looks across the only street leading into this North Carolina town of about 500 people to see an aluminum cross on a stone bearing her son’s name.

About two miles from where she is standing sits a silent sand lot — the only sound, the rustling of some plastic wrap that holds some dead $4 roses.

It was there six months ago that her son, William Rhea, and six of his friends died in a fire that to her is still burning.

Lee came to Ocean Isle Beach just for the day — to watch as the town memorializes her son with a cross and some flowers in a private ceremony.

Eventually, she will cross the Odell Williamson Bridge and slide into the sleepy beach town to stand at 1 Scotland St. to see the place that has changed her.

Deadly Ocean Isle beach fire: 'Friends together forever'

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:49 EDT

The grievous path away from a charred Ocean Isle Beach house has not been easy for those who lost loved ones in the deadly, swift-moving blaze or for those who miraculously escaped the flames.

But when families gather today at the base of the Odell Williamson bridge, it will be testament to the fierce task of survival, of remembering the contributions of seven bright young South Carolinians who died too young.

The town of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., just across the border from South Carolina, will unveil a cross-shaped monument to the six USC students and one Clemson student who died Oct. 28 in the canalside three-story beach house.

The names of the seven — Cassidy Pendley, 18; Lauren Mahon, 18; Justin Anderson, 19; Travis Cale, 19; Allison Walden, 19; William Rhea, 18; and Emily Yelton, 19 — are inscribed on a granite stone at the base of the cross.

It carries the date of the fire and the inscription “Friends together forever,” a fitting epitaph for a warm, carefree college weekend that went terribly awry.

Fond memories survive flames

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:39 EST

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. — Emily Yelton was flattered to be invited for a weekend at the beach with a group of sorority girls and their boyfriends from Columbia.

Emily and her twin sister, Meredith, 19-year-old sophomores at Clemson University, had planned to spend last weekend at home in Simpsonville.

But that changed Thursday, when Emily got a call from her boyfriend in Columbia, Travis Cale.

“She was excited,” said Jeff Yelton, recalling his daughter’s decision to accept the invitation to Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. “She was sort of the outsider, and now they were inviting her to go with them.”

Over the past week, details have emerged about how 13 college students from South Carolina — 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds, most members of Delta Delta Delta sorority and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity — came together last weekend in a quiet beach town just across the North Carolina border.

Justin’s legacy: Photos, memories and love

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

Dawn Anderson leafed through a mountain of photos on her kitchen counter, looking for one with her 19-year-old son Justin’s characteristic baseball cap turned backward over his shaggy blond hair.

She settled instead upon pictures from the formal events of his days at Greenville’s J.L. Mann Academy: of Justin with Meredith Yelton at the prom, of Justin with Travis Cale at graduation, and of Justin with Emily and Meredith Yelton, identical-twin friends who until just two weeks ago lived in the Spaulding Farms neighborhood where they had all grown up together.

Her lips trembled slightly as she handed over the precious images of her second son who died Sunday in a house fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

“He was so sweet with me. He always sent me flowers on my birthday,” said the former first-grade teacher and mother of four. “I have no regrets about his life. I just regret that I’ll never see him again.”

Dawn and Tom Anderson have three sons to comfort them in their loss of Justin: Stephen, 23, a USC journalism graduate; Taylor, 14; and Matthew, 9.

Fun-loving Cale liked to get the last word with friends

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

Travis Cale’s bonds of friendship began in his Greenville neighborhood, sustained him through school and died with him in a North Carolina beach town.

The 19-year-old USC freshman grew up in an upper-middle-class Greenville neighborhood that had the unimaginative name of Round Pond.

“We would put five people in a little johnboat and go fishing,” said Brayden Wynn, a friend of Cale’s since the first grade. “Growing up around Round Pond, that’s what we did for fun.”

A snapshot of a younger Cale fishing on the tranquil pond was on the cover of his funeral bulletin Saturday.

The group fished in the neighborhood pond most days, sometimes even before going to school, Wynn, 20, said.

Outgoing Mahon was known for her way with words

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

USC freshman Lauren Mahon was a vivacious Delta Delta Delta pledge who made friends easily and liked to shop for MAC cosmetics.

She also was a standout student, getting more than 1350 on her SAT last year.

She had a way with words. No matter what she said, friends recall, she was articulate.

“She gave advice like a 50-year-old woman,” said Amanda Kamman, who went to Hillcrest High in Simpsonville with Mahon. “And it was always the right thing to say.”

One of Mahon’s loves was Bella, a light-brown-and-white Chihuahua she had for two years.

‘You couldn’t help but love him’

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:05 EDT

The saying “they were like brothers” wasn’t quite enough to describe the relationship William and Andrew Rhea shared.

The young men “shared an amazing bond,” Trinity Collegiate School headmaster Robert Veto said.

But the bond was broken in this life by the Oct. 28 Ocean Isle beach house fire.

Andrew, 19, escaped with minor injuries, while William, 18, was one of the seven who died.

“Everybody loved (William). Everybody really misses him,” Anna Lee Rhea, William’s younger sister, told The Associated Press. “You couldn't help but love him.”

Walden always had a sunny outlook on life

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

She could wear tie-dyed T-shirts one day and pearls the next.

Jam to Janis Joplin and Dave Matthews or Britney Spears and rap.

Fall right in with a crowd of new friends in the sunny South or return to brighten the lives of her northern compatriots in wintry Ohio.

Socialize with verve in USC’s Greek Village or hang out with non-Greek friends at Pavlov’s in Five Points.

“People were just happier that she was around,” said close family friend David Steines, 21, a junior at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

Yelton was cherished part of close-knit family and friends

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

Emily Yelton taught Justin Anderson’s younger brother Matthew to swim, said Justin’s older brother Stephen. It was just one of many signs of the bonds between the Anderson and Yelton families in Greenville’s Spaulding Farms neighborhood.

Emily, 19, had recently decided she wanted to become a teacher, said her mother Kim, who is a tennis instructor.

Sophomores at Clemson University, Emily and her identical twin sister, Meredith, continued parallel paths as they had at Greenville’s J.L. Mann Academy. Both had been members of the high school cheerleader squad. Emily became the squad captain.

At Clemson, Emily joined the Delta Zeta sorority. But many of her lifelong friends were at USC, and they were the ones who invited her to the beach.

Until she received that invitation Thursday morning, the twins had planned to go home to Greenville for the weekend to be with their parents.

A scholar, an athlete, a beauty

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:45 EST

In the student parking lot of Fort Dorchester High School on Friday, white-lettered words covered windshields of several cars.

“Rest in peace.”

“#16.”

“I (heart) you, Cassidy.”

These rolling tributes memorialized a young woman, Cassidy Pendley, who’s academic brilliance, athletic prowess, stunning beauty and gracious spirit touched many lives at her former North Charleston high school and beyond.

Bush sends condolences to fire families

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:42 EDT

President George W. Bush, who is visiting Columbia today, said he and First Lady Laura Bush are concerned about the families who lost loved ones in the fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., this week.

Seven S.C. college students — six from USC, one from Clemson — died in an early morning blaze Sunday.

An official report on the fire’s cause could be released today.

“I know people are hurting,” Bush said.

The president is in town for a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s re-election campaign. Bush also will visit Fort Jackson, where he will speak at graduation ceremonies today for Army recruits.

Tears and remembrance

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:49 EDT

As the sun set over the University of South Carolina campus Monday, candles held by students illuminated a somber scene.

Six black wreaths adorned with garnet bows stood in a semi-circle, flanking a single, purple wreath with a white ribbon and an orange rose.

Tri-Delts in matching blue jerseys, sorority sisters of three victims of Sunday’s deadly beach house fire, hugged each. SAEs in jackets and ties remained stoic but shaken at the loss of two brothers.

Scores of students circled them on Greene Street.“I’m just trying to understand what happened,” 19-year-old USC student Tim Cline of Niagara Falls, N.Y., said. “As bad as you feel, it’s helps to be part of something bigger.”

The wreaths and a growing circle of flowers mark tragedy. Seven young lives taken. Six friends from USC, one from Clemson on a weekend getaway.

From Sorensen's remarks

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:53 EDT

USC president Andrew Sorensen quoted a famous verse — “no man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent” — from 16th-century Anglican priest and poet John Donne:

“If I may adapt that observation to the 21st century and the University of South Carolina,” Sorensen said, “no Gamecock is an island. When any one member of our family is lost, every one of us is diminished. I’m profoundly saddened, as are all members of Gamecock Nation, by these tragic deaths.”

Walden funeral: ‘Such a loss to the community’

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:08 EDT

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — More than 600 people crowded a suburban Cleveland church Saturday to remember one of seven college students killed in a North Carolina beach house fire last weekend, a church minister said.

The one-hour, 15-minute service at The Federated Church-United Church of Christ was a celebration of the life of Allison Walden, 19, a University of South Carolina sophomore who enrolled at the school because of the warm weather and the campus sorority scene.

Walden was recognized for her energetic and cheerful ways and her commitment to her studies.

“There was lots of laughter and lots of tears,” the Rev. Mark Simone said. “But it was difficult. It’s been such a loss to the community.”

Jerry Brewer, the university’s associate vice president for student affairs, and a half-dozen of Walden’s sorority sisters traveled from South Carolina to attend the service, Simone said.

450 mourn girl with 'contagious smile'

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:43 EDT

USC freshman Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon was “a rock star without a band,” according to her friend Andy Evans.

Mahon was the second of the seven students killed in a North Carolina beach house fire to be buried this week.

More than 450 people paid their respects at Friday’s funeral in Mauldin.

Mahon, 18, was the definition of a lady who touched many lives, Evans said.

Her enthusiasm for life was her defining attribute, said Lauren Hodge, president of Delta Delta Delta sorority, of which Mahon was a pledge.

‘Half of me is gone’

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:44 EDT

CLEMSON — Surrounded by eight friends, Meredith Yelton stood in front of hundreds of college students and read a letter to her twin sister, Emily.

Emily, a sophomore at Clemson, was one of seven students killed Sunday in a beach house fire in North Carolina.

“Half of me is gone,” Meredith Yelton said, pausing occasionally to pull her hair behind her ears, tears glistening on her cheeks.

“Who is going to sleep with me at night when I am scared?”

Meredith Yelton spoke to the hundreds of Clemson and USC students who filled the shadows of Clemson’s outdoor amphitheater Wednesday night for a memorial service for the seven.

Mourners recall young man who touched lives

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:08 EDT

GREENVILLE — Travis Cale’s plain oak casket rested along the shore of Round Pond, a tranquil place where he, his family and his closest friends lounged, laughed and loved.

Cale, one of seven college students who died in an Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., fire last week, was eulogized Saturday at the spot where his young life was richest.

Eight friends gently laid down the casket as Cale’s 14-foot johnboat bobbed nearby as it had hundreds of times in the fishing hole across from his home.

One youthful pallbearer rested his palms at the head of the coffin, hung his head and sobbed. He turned away toward the pond for consolation and composure.

On this day, the johnboat was not filled with bright-faced boys competing to catch the most fish.

Close friends were popular, well-liked

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:52 EST

Shannon McDaniel was intimidated and scared when she transferred in her junior year to a new school, J.L. Mann Academy in Greenville County.

As it turned out, she didn’t need to worry.

During that first day in 2004, classmate Emily Yelton, a pretty blonde, swiveled around in her chair and introduced herself with a big smile.

Immediately, she took McDaniel under her wing, inviting her to eat in the cafeteria and introducing her to a clan of close friends.

Soon the girls were eating bagels with cream cheese and Skittles for lunch every day, sharing laughs with others in Yelton’s crowd of popular friends.

Silence in remembrance

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:15 EDT

Dale McNair wasn’t sure how she got herself to Columbia on Tuesday, but by noon she was standing silently before USC’s makeshift memorial to the seven victims of a weekend fire.

She needed to see the arc of wreaths — six garnet and black and one purple with a Tiger-paw ribbon — and remember Travis Cale, who died in the blaze with five other USC students and his Clemson girlfriend, Emily Yelton.

“His smile was just infectious,” said McNair, who watched Travis and his older brother, Burns, grow from middle-schoolers to young men, along with her own children.

McNair, who drove from her Greenville home, was among dozens who paused in their daily lives to stand before the Greene Street Gamecock. There, they remembered the seven students who perished Sunday in the early morning blaze on Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Six others escaped.

Some laid flowers, others placed letters on what has now become sacred university ground. Others stood silently, some bowed their heads in prayer. Two teddy bears, one white and one garnet, perched among the bouquets. A soccer shirt was tucked among them. The garnet bear bore the embroidered words “Bless my Gamecock.”

Fire believed accidental, town officials say

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:18 EDT

The group of college friends spent much of the late-season weekend on the deck of a beach house in North Carolina, overlooking a canal.

The deck was where they talked, listened to music and danced late into the night. But investigators fear the deck also marked the starting point of a fast-moving fire that killed the seven S.C. students and injured six more.

Six of the dead were students at USC; one was from Clemson. The group included high school pals from Greenville who went off to college together — some becoming Delta Delta Delta sorority sisters and some, Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity brothers.

Debbie Smith, mayor of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., said officials ruled out a chimenea — a free-standing outdoor fireplace — below a second-floor deck, as a possible cause of the fire.

Smith said investigators told her the fire was likely accidental and started on or near the deck, which faced a canal on the west side of the house.

New friendships cut short by fire

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:53 EDT

It had been just a fun beach weekend for the college students, filled with football, cookouts, new friends and late nights.

Now seven students are dead, victims of a Sunday morning fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., that quickly engulfed a two-story beach house and allowed just six to escape with their lives.

The fire, which erupted before 7 a.m., left the house a charred, roofless skeleton.

“There was no part of the house that was not covered with flames,” said Stephanie Wilkins, a UNC-Chapel Hill junior staying with a group at the house next door. “It was ... just completely covered and engulfed in flames.”

Officials had not released the victims’ names Sunday night. Six of the dead were from the University of South Carolina, the seventh from Clemson University, according to one USC official. The six who survived also were from USC.

'A phone call no parent can imagine'

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:18 EDT

Survivors of Sunday’s deadly beach house fire include the young woman who hosted the weekend getaway, a man who jumped three stories to escape, a man who lost his brother in the fire, and a sophomore who could not save her roommate.

The deadly fire left surviving family members struggling with conflicting emotions — relief their child survived and grief that others’ did not.

“The thought of losing a child is just unimaginable to me,” said Chip Auman, whose family owned the house and whose daughter survived. “As a father, my heart goes out to the families that have lost a loved one in this situation.”

Auman met with the media Monday evening at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville where his daughter, Katherine Auman, 18, was hospitalized with complications from smoke inhalation. She was in stable condition in intensive care, he said.

Auman said his family was “numb, shocked and confused.”

911 tapes | Listen to callers report fire

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:54 EST

Here are four of the more than 20 calls placed the night of the deadly Ocean Isle Beach fire to Brunswick County (N.C.) 911:

Deadly beach house fire: 'I go to bed crying'

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:15 EDT

From a crowd of 300 people gathered on Greene Street Tuesday night, one man stepped forward.

He walked to the seven wreaths placed in the street in front of the Russell House — one for each student killed in a horrific house fire on a North Carolina beach — and paused to kneel in front of each one.

He was Stephen Anderson. His brother Justin Anderson died in Sunday’s fire. The crowd didn’t know that.

“I’m the oldest of four,” the 23-year-old USC graduate said later. “Every day it’s tough. I go to bed crying and wake up crying — and I cry a few more times in between.

“I just want to tell everybody who is praying for my family — I know we are hearing them.”

6 fire victims had drunk heavily

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:34 EST

Six of the seven South Carolina college students killed in last month’s North Carolina beach house fire had blood-alcohol levels as much as three times the legal limit for an adult operating a vehicle, according to toxicology reports released Friday.

The students, all of whom were underage, had blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.16 percent to 0.29 percent. The legal limit for driving in North Carolina is 0.08 percent.

Lauren Mahon, an 18-year-old USC freshman from Simpsonville, did not have alcohol in her system, said Dr. John Butts, North Carolina’s medical examiner.

The students died after a fire broke out shortly after 7 a.m. Oct. 28 at a beach house on Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Thirteen college students from South Carolina were in the house. Six escaped, including some who jumped from second-story windows.

Seven students — six from USC and one from Clemson University — died from smoke inhalation and poisoning from carbon monoxide, which is odorless. It is likely they died in their sleep.

It had been planned as a fun weekend

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:53 EDT

It had been just a fun beach weekend for the college students, filled with football, cookouts, new friends and late nights.

Now seven students are dead, victims of a Sunday morning fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., that quickly engulfed a two-story beach house and allowed just six to escape with their lives. The State Bureau of Investigation was still investigating the cause late Sunday.

Some of the vicims are from Greenville, an Ocean Isle Beach Town Council member told The Greenville News.

While the University of South Carolina was awaiting official confirmation, six of the dead were believed to be from USC, the other from Clemson University.

And Dennis Pruitt, USC’s director of student affairs, said late Sunday afternoon the fire appears to have affected two USC Greek organizations - Delta Delta Delta sorority and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

'Profoundly tragic'

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:42 EDT

Fire officials say a North Carolina home where seven South Carolina college students died in a fire Sunday had fire alarms.

Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., Fire Chief Robert Yoho said the house had the required smoke alarms in bedrooms and a nearby hallway. It lacked a sprinkler system, which was not required.

Asked why the house burned so rapidly, Yoho replied, "oxygen." He said the wood construction and strong winds contributed to the spread. Since the house was elevated, that allowed wind to whip underneath.

Authorities believe the deadly blaze may have started near a deck in the back of the two story house on Scotland Street, said Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith.

The home erupted into a storm of fire and smoke. Six of the seven students killed attended USC and the other Clemson. Six other USC students in the house survived.

'You can’t have a child and not feel the loss'

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:19 EDT

Darlene Krammer knew her son, Andreas, had stayed on campus at USC for the weekend. She knew he wasn’t in the fraternity mentioned in the news reports about a beach house fire at Ocean Isle, N.C. Still, she was worried sick when she couldn’t get in contact with Andreas on Sunday.

“It’s the most chilling, fearful thing you could imagine,” said Krammer, who lives in the Chicago area. “It’s overwhelming.”

It’s something every USC parent felt, unless their child was in sight when they heard the news. Hearts skipped a beat, even for parents who were certain their children weren’t at the beach for the weekend.

Darlene and her husband, Ludwig, had noticed the headlines on the Daily Gamecock, which they read online, and had seen coverage on television news. Then some of Andreas’ high school friends started calling to see if his parents had heard from him.

Andreas finally contacted his parents early Monday. “When he called, he said, ‘Don’t be flipping out,’” Darlene recalled a few hours later. “He didn’t think it would be national news.”

'We all are affected by tragedy'

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:19 EDT

The long walks across campus, classroom lectures and cell-phone chatter were clouded with the harsh reality of loss Monday at the University of South Carolina.

News of the deaths of six USC students Sunday has left many seeking support and the university community desperately hoping to provide it.

“It’s just one of those scary things,” USC junior Jessica Sainato said. “I think this is kind of opening people’s eyes that we all are affected by tragedy.”

Like many others on the USC campus, Sainato didn’t know the six students or the one from Clemson who died in the house fire Sunday morning at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.. But the reality of the deaths was inescapable throughout campus Monday.

Individual classes were canceled. On-line social networking sites were blanketed with tributes. And many campus hot spots were engulfed by local and national media.

‘There’s people inside’

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:52 EST

The first thing Tim Burns saw was the smoke. A lot of it.

“It was a pretty big column of smoke — bigger than anything from anyone just having a fire there,” he said. “So I went to investigate.”

Burns was on his normal Sunday morning route, delivering papers for The Sun News. He was one of the first people to arrive at a beach-house fire on Scotland Street in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., that killed six USC students, one Clemson student and injured six others, all college students.

Burns was the first person to call 911. Then he tried to do everything he could to help.

“I got down there and three or four of them were out, running around the house, yelling ‘Where’s my brother? Where’s my sister?’” he said. “I asked if there was anyone inside, and they were yelling, ‘There’s people inside! There’s people inside!’”