Vacationers safe after fire sweeps through oceanfront house

By Rob Morris on August 9, 2016

Sixteen people got out safely after an oceanfront house in Nags Head caught fire early this morning.

The fire gutted the house at 6503 Virginia Dare Trail and damaged the neighboring rental home to the south.

Fire Chief Kevin Zorc, who was still at the scene around 8 a.m., said no one was hurt.

Most of the rear of the house at 6503 was destroyed, and blackened windows and smoke stains running up the siding were evidence that flames had also reached the front.

Heat melted siding and composite deck railing on the house next door.



The fire was reported to 911 at 3:12 a.m. by someone staying in an adjacent home, according to an update from the town this afternoon. All told, Nags Head police helped evacuate 37 people from both houses.

License plates on cars parked outside the heavily damaged home indicated that the occupants were from New York. They were given temporary lodging at the nearby Islander.

Zorc said the people in the neighboring house were provided lodging by their rental agent.

The Red Cross and several local businesses are helping those displaced, the update said. Fire departments from Kill Devil Hills, Colington, Kitty Hawk, Roanoke Island, Manns Harbor and Southern Shores also responded.

The Dare County Fire Marshal and members of Nags Head’s Police and Fire Departments are investigating the cause.

Video of the fire, courtesy Scammell’s Corner Surf Shop and Ice Cream Parlor:

The rental company the managed the house expressed thanks to those who assisted their tenants:

