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Campus mourns 7 killed in N.C. fire
2007-10-29
Students at the University of South Carolina returned to class Monday morning, many still waiting to learn the names of the classmates who were among seven people killed in a weekend beach house blaze. The home erupted into a storm of fire and smoke Sunday morning in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Six of the seven students killed attended the University of South Carolina; the other attended Clemson University. Six other South Carolina students in the house survived. Though students heard through word of mouth which students survived, the names of the victims had not been officially announced. Kaitlynn Forsyth, 20, a junior marketing major, said she learned about the fire while studying in the library Sunday night, and quickly went to the Internet to find out more. "I seriously just sat there. It took everything not to cry," she said. "The more we looked at stuff, my heart just sank. I had to go back to studying to fight off my tears. I just imagine it could have been anybody." The students had gathered at the home to enjoy the fleeting beach weather. All that was left of the home Monday was a charred shell, and a burned-out car sat in the driveway, cordoned off with police tape. The fire struck sometime before 7 a.m. and burned completely 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. One witness described seeing three students sitting on the ground screaming as the home burned, and another jumping from a window into a waterway. The intense heat kept a newspaper deliveryman, Tim Burns, and others from attempting a rescue. When he approached the front door, he said, it was too hot to open. Above him, he heard windows begin to explode. "When I knew the flames had taken over, I don't think I've ever felt as helpless in my life," Burns said. The burned home sits on one of a series of peninsulas, all tightly packed with homes, that are about two blocks from the beach and connect by canals. Several houses near the one that burned were filled with college students. Officials said the group was staying at a house owned by the parents of one of the students. Many were friends from the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said Dennis Pruitt, the school's dean of students. The father of one survivor said several had gone to high school together in Greenville. The group had decided to go to the beach to enjoy some of the last good weather, Amanda Palacio, a roommate of a person at the home, told ABC's "Good Morning America." "They were just, you know, going out to have a good time and enjoy the beach, especially before it got cold," Palacio said Monday. The cause of the blaze had not been determined. Officials said identifications might not be made publicly until Wednesday, but that grief counselors would be available for the 27,000 students here when classes resume Monday. Patrick Morency, a junior biology major, said he learned of the tragedy while watching the World Series on Sunday. "I was like, oh my gosh. I can't even put it into words," said Morency, 19. Some of the people in the house had been friends since high school, said Rick Wylie of Greenville, who said his son Tripp jumped from the burning home. "He's in shock," Wylie said. "It's just an incomprehensible thing for these parents." The victims' bodies were to be taken to the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill, N.C. Authorities from the State Bureau of Investigation and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were leading the investigation, said Randy Thompson, Brunswick County's emergency services director. Ocean Isle Beach is at the southern end of North Carolina's Atlantic Coast, about 30 miles north of Myrtle Beach. Only about 500 people live there year-round, but the town is home to several thousand rental and vacation homes and condos. ___ Associated Press writers Estes Thompson in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., Mike Baker in Raleigh Daniel Yee in Atlanta and Jacob Jordan in Columbia contributed to this report.
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