Oak Island Fire Chief holds town hall meeting following fourth fire in 3 months

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — In the past 3 months, there have been 4 fires at Oak Island, with the most recent one occurring Tuesday, July 16th.

As investigators continue looking for the exact cause of the fire, Oak Island Fire Chief Lee Price held a town hall meeting to answer any questions and alleviate any concerns residents had.

Terri Cartner was one such resident who attended.

She said while the fire department is there to help, residents need to take the initiative to make sure their property and other’s people property is safe.

“That as citizens, we have responsibility for our properties and we have responsibilities to communicate with our neighbors and we have to watch out for each other,” Cartner said. “And so, that was the biggest takeaway. He gave some really good hints for things to do.”

Chief Price said the town hall was a great way to educate the public.

“It’s great to see that there’s people interested in wanting to know what they can do about fire prevention and in wanting to know what’s going on in their community,” Price said. “We care about the community and we want people to be educated. And so I think this was a good opportunity to give them some more education of where they can go to find out about things and really just to meet people and talk to them.”

Former Raleigh firefighter Randy Atkins was at the meeting and said he thinks it helped reduce any concerns people may have.

“I think most people, in my opinion, have eased their minds,” Atkins said. “It’s not an arsonist and its not one thing that is starting these fires, its different things. And a little bit of fire prevention on homeowner’s ends.”

Price said Tuesday’s fire is believed to have started under the house near a golf cart and scooter, but the exact cause is not known at this time.