Deaths in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina Beach House May be Tied to Alcohol

According to North Carolina’s chief medical examiner, Dr. John Butts, alcohol may have played a role in the deaths of six of seven college students killed in a beach house fire last month in Ocean Isle Beach.

Reports indicated that blood-alcohol levels ranged from .16 percent to .29 percent in six of the students killed during the blaze.

While the fire is not believed to have been caused by drinking, Butts believes that the students “ability to respond” may have been affected. A blood-alcohol content of .08 percent is the legal limit for driving in the state.

Six students survived the fire, two by jumping out a window.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined but officials are looking at the possibility of a discarded cigarette as the culprit. Six of the students who died attended the University of South Carolina, the seventh attended Clemson University.

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