Cane Island house she be burnt down yup

[Strick9]

She gone. Closing was supposed to be 5/5.

[WoodieSC]

Damn. Any idea what happened?

And who was buying it? I haven't talked to John in awhile, but wasn't aware they were selling it.

[Strick9]

Apparently some youths with right to be there left a grill turned on and poof she gone. Sucks, tons of history there..

[JABIII]

Coincidental...

[WoodieSC]

Apparently some youths with right to be there left a grill turned on and poof she gone. Sucks, tons of history there..

Just talked to John for a few minutes and they weren't 'family, etc'. It was a crew who was down there to raise a barge and were given permission to stay in the bunkhouse while they were working. We got interrupted due to an appointment he had, but I'll get more details later.

[Rhino]

After 51 years we had the island under contract for sale. A crew was on the island trying to raise a barge that had sunk. It had brought down a small track hoe about 18 months before. They tied the barge too tight to the bulkhead and when the tide went out only one side went down with the tide. It took water in the hatches and flooded. Numerous attempts to raise it were unsuccessful. Easter weekend they were trying again. We gave them permission to use the house so they could take advantage of the next low tide to try to raise the barge. They notified us that the fire awakened them around 2 or 3 in the morning with flames in the back room leading to the back porch. They felt the fire started in the batteries. However, my brother and I had just switched out $800.00 worth of deep cycle batteries and a new charger within the previous couple of months. The only current being pulled from those batteries at that time of night was a 15 watt night light over the stove. Some of us are of the opinion the fire started in the grill on the back porch just outside that room. The porch then collapsed under the back rooms, the battery room and our bedroom and it was pretty much over after that. No certain origin of the fire has been officially determined. The fire was so hot it lit up both of our 20 foot Conex containers that were about 8 feet from the house. All motors, gas tanks, tools etc. were lost in one, and all decoys (about 300) along with camo netting and stuff were lost in the other. It is a sad sight, but nothing can take the memories away from us.

Fortunately, no one was injured or lost their life in the fire.

We contacted the prospective buyers and reached an agreement to continue the sale. It was completed earlier this month. We wish the new owners of the island all the best and know they will take great care of that property for many years to come.

[WoodieSC]

Thanks for stopping by, John, and giving us a summary of what happened. I only have that one weekend of memories with Stan, Jason, yourself, and the other one or two guys who were with us, but it was a great time for sure.

Really sorry that you lost all of the historic personal items, but glad the decision to sell was a collective one and not forced on anyone.

Let me know if you and your better half get up this way.

Best to ya'...

[LabLuvR]

Damn sad to read!

Within my time in the fire service, I had a lot of exposure to fire investigation. When it came to big money losses, all stops would be pulled to find the cause. Very few people have the tools, education etc to do it, but even fires with significant consumption, the origin and cause can be determined. Samples of wood char depth, fuel loads, wind/air movement etc are all examined intensely. You would be amazed at what can be done. On smaller fires such as this, rarely is such an intensive expenditure of resources warranted. But cause could be determined.