Many others suffered a fate similar to these seven-see details

Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.-Beach House Party

October 28, 2007

Justin Anderson, 19,  University of South Carolina

Anniversary Remembrance

Allison Walden, 19, University of South Carolina

The memorial at the foot of the Odell Wiliamson bridge to the seven students that died in the October fire at Ocean Isle Beach was unveiled, Friday in a private ceremony. 05/16/08 Photo by Charles Slate cslate@thesunnews.com

Emily Yelton, 19, Clemson University

Article Summaries and Excerpts Below

N.C. Beach House Fire Kills 7 Students

By PAGE IVEY – 20 hours ago                             Top of  page            Article

Reported that killed seven college friends died in a fire at a beach house in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.  Six of the seven victims attended the University of South Carolina; the other attended Clemson University. Six other South Carolina students in the house survived.  The was house owned by the parents of one of the students.

Several houses near the one that burned were filled with college students and the students were going back and forth between the houses all weekend.

Associated Press writers Estes Thompson in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., Mike Baker in Raleigh and Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report

Families Mourn 7 House Fire Victims

 By SAM SCOTT and ANAHAD O'CONNOR        Article

October 30, 2007                            Top of  page

Reported on the achievers who lost their lives in the Ocean Isle Beach fire.  Allison Walden's father said she spent her last night alive listening to music and partying with her friends.  "“It sounded like they were having a good time,” Allison’s father, Terry Walden, told The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, the fire didn’t show any mercy. They probably never woke up.”"

Also reported that six other students staying at the house escaped but suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.  Anna Lee Rhea's two of her brothers were in the house. One of them, Andrew, made it out alive; the other, William did not.

An earlier version omitted credit to The Associated Press for reporting used in this article, including quotations from Terry Walden, Anna Lee Rhea and Amanda Palacio.

Three Carolina fire victims were high school buddies        Top of  page          Article

Reported that three of the college students, Emily Yelton, Travis Cale and Justin Anderson, who died in a house fire Sunday at a North Carolina beach house graduated from the same , high school in Greenville, South Carolina. Yelton and Cale, 20, were boyfriend and girlfriend, Cale attended the University of South Carolina and Emily attended Clemson University.

Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith was reported to have said the house was "engulfed" in flames when the fire department arrived on the scene, about five minutes after being notified. The flames shot into the sky and ultimately left little more than portions of the framing.

Profiles of the SC college students killed in a beach house fire

Posted on Wed, Oct. 31, 2007                                          Top of  page           Article

The article provided a profile of the seven victims:

• Justin Michael Anderson, 19, loved fishing and played football and soccer at J.L. Mann High School. Justin was University of South Carolina sophomore and member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, came from a family of Gamecock alumni and was the second of four sons.
• Travis Lane Cale, 19, also graduated from J.L. Mann. Like Anderson,  Travis was always smiling and wore a faded USC baseball cap that seemed molded to his head.  Like his high school classmate, he loved to fish and played church basketball.  The freshman also played guitar and learned to dance when he was young, ballroom style and shag - another Southern tradition.
• Lauren Astrid Mahon was always on the go, talking "90 miles per hour," according to her best friend and roommate.  "She'd always say, 'If you listen closely, I make perfect sense."  Freshman Lauren planned to work in real estate law.
• Cassidy Fae Pendley was a high school cheerleader and soccer player and attended an academic program for the best and brightest high school juniors at the Gov.'s School at the College of Charleston helped the Delta Delta Delta sorority pledge learn to be more outgoing.  Cassidy, was a freshman chemical-engineering major and National Honor Society member with a radiant smile. ""She always, always carried a positive vibe," Rodney Otadoy, a high school and college classmate, told The Greenville News. "She always had the biggest smile ever. The only thing bigger than her smile would have to be her heart.""
• William Robert Rhea was a funny, outgoing person who did everything with his older brother Andrew who survived the fire with only minor injuries.  William was a freshman member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  William played basketball, baseball and golf and was employed as a lifeguard.
• Allison Christine Walden grew up in the Midwest and was known as a cheerful, positive girl who liked to have a good time.  However, Allison also was studious and had a promising future according to her father.  Allison was a sophomore exercise-science major wanted to get her master's degree in anesthesiology assistance.
• Sophomore Emily Lauren Yelton attended Clemson University  In the process of changing her major to early childhood education with a goal of teaching kindergarten.  Emily and  her identical twin sister Meredith were roommates and Delta Zeta sorority sisters.

Students’ Dreams Ended in Rush of Morning Fire

 By SAM SCOTT and ANAHAD O’CONNOR                 Article

New York Times October 31, 2007                                     Top of  page

Article provides more information about the deceased students.

Sam Scott reported from Wilmington, N.C., and Anahad O’Connor from New York.

Campus Mourns 7 Killed in N.C. Fire

By PAGE IVEY – 1 day ago                  Top of  page              Article

Reported on the reactions of students at the University of South Carolina to the loss of the classmates killed in a weekend beach house blaze.

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.

Cause of deadly beach house fire likely accidental

 By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY                                        Top of  page           Article

Reported that investigators quizzed dozens of college students who filled several nearby homes seeking descriptions for anything about the people in the house.

Contributing: Jennifer Lindgren of WLTX-TV in Columbia, S.C.; the Associated Press

UNC-Chapel Hill Students Witnessed Ocean Isle Beach Fire 

Posted: Oct. 29, 2007                                Top of  page                  Article

Reported that as many as 50 students from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were visiting Ocean Isle over the weekend near where seven South Carolina students died in a fire.  The UNC students went to Ocean Isle for a weekend retreat with their service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.

Reporter: Kelcey Carlson
Photographer: Geof Levine
Web Editor: Minnie Bridgers

Copyright 2007 by WRAL.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Beach House Blaze's Cause May Be Smoking

By ESTES THOMPSON – 2 hours ago                                Top of  page          Article

Reported that a discarded cigarette or other smoking materials may have caused a beach house fire   Officials said there has been absolutely no indication that the fire was intentionally set but because of the extensive damage it was impossible for investigators to pinpoint the exact source.

Also reported that the students all died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Last funeral held Monday for victims of beach house fire
Posted: Nov 5, 2007 12:10 PM                                    Article

Updated: Nov 5, 2007 08:08 PM                                   Top of  page

Reported on the  funeral for the final victim of the North Carolina beach house fire for Cassidy Pendley. Later that week, USC held an official memorial for all seven young people who died in the fire.

Posted by Bryce Mursch

Grief in garnet-1,500 pay quiet tribute to students’ spirit

Posted on Thu, Nov. 08, 2007                          Top of  page

 By JAMES T. HAMMOND and ALLISON ASKINS
jhammond@thestate.com askins@thestate.com

Reported on the memorial service at the University of South Carolina for the victims of the beach house fire.

Reach Hammond at (803) 771-8474. Reach Askins at (803) 771-8614.

Alcohol Found in Some Beach Fire Victims

By ESTES THOMPSON – 1 day ago                               Top of  page         Article

Reported that six of the seven college students killed last month in a beach house fire had alcohol in their systems.  The blood-alcohol levels ranged from .16 percent to .29 percent, double the legal limit for driving.  The Medical examiner said the alcohol levels may have affected the students' coordination and "their ability to respond."  However, a prosecutor said he doesn't believe drinking played a role in the deaths.

Posted on Sat, Nov. 17, 2007

6 fire victims had drunk heavily

Officials disagree whether that could have been factor in fire itself or students’ inability to escape

 By ADAM BEAM                                   Article
abeam@thestate.com                                Top of  page

Reported that six of the seven deceased South Carolina college students had blood-alcohol levels as much as three times the legal limit for an adult operating a vehicle.  The students, all of whom were underage, had blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.16 percent to 0.29 percent.  Lauren Mahon did not have alcohol in her system.

Also reported on the disagreement between the medical examiner and a prosecutor as to the effect that those levels of alcohol had on the student's reaction to the fire.  Added to the the debate was the following:  "But with blood-alcohol levels that high, the students’ reaction times were likely slowed and their judgment impaired, said Dr. Robert Stafford, medical director for the Lexington-Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council."

Reach Beam at (803) 771-8405. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

© 2007 TheState.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thestate.com

Report: 6 students killed in fire had been drinking, but alcohol did not contribute to deaths

Posted on Fri, Nov. 16, 2007                                      Top of  page

Reported on the results of the alcohol level tests.

- Clif LeBlanc

© 2007 TheState.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thestate.com

Article published Nov 20, 2007
Drinking adds to fire tragedy                         Top of  page             Article

Reported that although officially alcohol didn’t kill any of the seven college students, "it’s hard to believe, however, that drinking didn’t play a role in some of the deaths."  Moreover, "other young people should consider the possible consequences before they go on drinking binges. Driving isn’t the only potentially deadly activity associated with alcohol."

Copyright © 2007
The News & Record
and Landmark Communications, Inc.

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