THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501220045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
An apparent electrical malfunction in a computer monitor has been blamed for a fire that badly damaged the Outer Banks offices of The Virginian-Pilot and the Carolina Coast.
``My report is going to say that an electrical short in a computer monitor is the place where the fire started,'' said Dare County Fire Marshal Doug Remaley.
Remaley and his wife Debbie spotted the fire about 7:30 p.m. Friday as they drove past the newspaper offices in the 2800 block of S. Croatan Highway, at the corner of East Barnes Street, near mile post 11. Volunteer fire departments from Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Roanoke Island and Colington, as well as Dare County Emergency Medical Service quickly responded.
A management team from the newspaper joined bureau staffers and volunteer firefighters from Nags Head in sifting through the charred rubble Saturday morning.
The most serious damage was in the office used by Ronald L. Speer, editor and general manager of the Virginian-Pilot's North Carolina operation which includes the Sunday Carolina Coast, and in a third floor area where a decade of records were stored.
The fire burned a large hole in the ceiling of the editor's office, and in the floor of the circulation area.
No one was in the building when the fire started. Speer said Saturday the loss was not as severe as first suspected.
``We were very lucky,'' Speer said. ``The files of previous issues of the Carolina Coast are mostly OK, except for smoke damage.
``The biggest loss was of negatives taken by photographer Drew Wilson, but he and some friends and the firefighters saved quite a few things.''
Wilson, whose award-winning work is a favorite of Virginian-Pilot and Coast readers, said ``there are different degrees of damage. ``I was lucky because my area is in the basement. There's some smoke and water damage, but I probably made out better than anybody.''
Nags Head Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Zorc estimated structural damage at about $20,000, but the total amount of the loss was not determined Saturday. The bulk of the damage was done to thousands of dollars' worth of computer equipment.
Staff members and correspondents from the Nags Head and Elizabeth City offices met Saturday morning to make sure publication of the daily North Carolina section and the Carolina Coast continues without interruption. They are printed on the papers' presses in Hampton Roads. Sunday's Carolina Coast was produced before the fire.
``The reporters will work out of their homes on personal computers,'' Speer said. ``Charlie Huff and his advertising staff will do the same for a few days, until we find temorary quarters.''
Many readers of the Virginian-Pilot and the Coast called Speer and other employees to offer office space, equipment, and sympathy.
Cole Campbell of Norfolk, editor of the papers, said he was glad no one was hurt.
``The most precious stuff we have - our people - is all right,'' Campbell said. ``We'll get things straightened out as quickly as we can.'' MEMO: To reach the newspapers, Outer Banks readers should use the following
numbers: News, (919) 441-1620 or (804) 446-2314; Advertising, (919)
338-1872; Circulation, (800) 446-2005.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Ron Speer, editor and general manager of the North Caroline bureau
of the newspapers, looks at items on top of desks in the newsroom
where a fire occurred Friday night.
KEYWORDS: FIRES by CNB