Fire engulfs million-dollar beach home where 18 guests were staying, NC officials say
At least one property was completely destroyed and a second house badly damaged in an overnight fire on the North Carolina coast Wednesday, according to local officials.
Fire and rescue squads were called to a house in Ocean Isle Beach just after 9:30 p.m., WWAY reported. Mayor Debbie Smith told the TV station that flames engulfed one house before spreading to a neighboring home.
Ocean Isle Beach is south of Wilmington, about 6 miles from the South Carolina Border.
The bridge onto the island was temporarily shut down around 10:30 p.m. to allow emergency and first responders to get to the scene quicker, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office said. The bridge has since been reopened.
At least 18 people from five different families were staying in the house that caught fire, said James D. Jarvis, executive director of the American Red Cross in the Cape Fear Area. He said no one was injured and the families were given a place to stay at a local hotel.
“We offered assistance to the families, as we do when situations like this occur, but they politely declined that assistance,” Jarvis told McClatchy News.
Jarvis also confirmed the fire started at 99 Ocean Isle West Blvd.
County tax records indicate the property is valued at $1.8 million. A previous Zillow listing shows the 4,500-square-foot house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The homeowner has reportedly spoken with the renters, who believe the fire started in the garage, according to WECT .
“He said he didn’t have anything in there that was combustible but they were charging electric bikes,” the mayor told the TV station.
The property is not the first to succumb to a fire on North Carolina’s coast this summer.
A house on the Outer Banks was destroyed in a fire over Father’s Day weekend, McClatchy News reported. The $4.9 million vacation home had 42 people inside, none of whom were injured.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Fire engulfs million-dollar beach home where 18 guests were staying, NC officials say."
