THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604260504
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Owners of an oceanfront home that burned to the ground March 31 are offering a reward of more than $1,000 for information about how the blaze began and whether anyone might have set it intentionally.
This week, Currituck County officials received a State Bureau of Investigation laboratory report about several cement pieces that a chemical-sniffing dog identified as having contaminants on them. But the report was inconclusive, Corolla Volunteer Fire Department Chief Marshall Cherry said Thursday.
So the fire is still ruled ``suspicious'' - and its cause remains under investigation.
``The substance the lab tested was determined to be an ingredient found in some flammables. So it doesn't rule out arson,'' said Cherry. ``But that substance isn't only contained in accelerants.''
So investigators don't know if it's what caused the fire.
Cherry refused to reveal what the substance was or where the fire started, saying that information could hamper the investigation.
The $300,000 house in The Villages at Ocean Hill subdivision was destroyed by a blaze that began before 7 p.m. on the last Sunday in March. The fire also damaged windows and walls of the home about 20 feet north of the collapsed property and claimed about 60 percent of the house to the south - resulting in at least $60,000 worth of damage there.
The flames caused the largest loss of any Corolla fire since heavy development began in the upscale northern Outer Banks community about eight years ago, Cherry said.
At least 46 firefighters fought the flames for five hours, drawing water from a lake more than a mile away.
No one was inside any of the three houses when the blaze began. All three structures are primarily rental properties owned by people in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Northern Virginia. The three-story home that burned to the ground at 1275 Sandcastle Drive is owned by Jeffrey and Carol Ferguson of the nation's capital, who put up the reward money.
On Thursday, a knee-high pile of ashes and a single charred piling were all that remained of the 3,000-square-foot house.
``We've interviewed everyone who ever worked on that house. We've checked out whether there could've been problems with the wiring or appliances. We're checking out every angle,'' Cherry said.
``We got some information that someone ran under the house next door about a half-hour before the fire. And someone else said there was a green car in the driveway of the house that burned earlier in the week - when no one was supposed to be in that house. But we're looking for any information about activity around that area.
``If anyone saw anything suspicious about or around that house prior to the fire,'' Cherry said, ``we'd like to know.'' ILLUSTRATION: WHERE TO CALL
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the
Currituck County Sheriff's Department tip line any time, 232-3981.
Callers do not have to leave their names.
KEYWORDS: FIRE by CNB