This is a version of a Facebook posting from December 6, 2021.

On December 6, 1981, Wrightsville Beach volunteer Lt. Robert M. Wynn, 28, died in the line of duty at the Doak Apartments fire. Also severely injured was volunteer firefighter Joe Dennison, 21, who suffered second and third degree burns.

At 1:13 a.m. on a Sunday morning, the fire department was dispatched to 555 S. Lumina Avenue. Arriving firefighters found the Doak Apartments heavily involved with fire. And flames were impinging the Hanover Seaside Club building, and also threatening Carolina Temple Apartments,  immediately north of the Doak. [1]

[1]Wind blowing to the southwest prevented the flame from spreading to the Carolina Temple building, but they also caused the Seaside Club building to catch fire.

Recounts Fire Chief Everett Ward in this short documentary film, within eight minutes he received a report from his captain, Bill Ivins, that he had lost two people in the club building. Recounted the department’s web page, Ivins along with Dennison and Wynn had entered the club building with hose line(s). Ivins left that position momentarily to help set up a deluge gun. When he returned, he found the hose line slack.

Dennison and Wynn had reached an upper floor balcony of the club building–accounts differ, if it was the second or third floor–and were going room-to-room, window-to-window, moving along the balcony and spraying water into each room. They were advancing down the balcony when “everything went black” and fire was all over them.[2]

[2] There are conflicting accounts of what happened. The department’s web site said a severe flashover occurred. A story in the News & Observer said a pressured tank of petroleum exploded, enveloping the building in flames and trapping the two.

Courtesy Wrightsville Beach Fire Department

Dennison escaped after dropping 18 feet from a window, landing on the air pack that he was wearing. Wynn had crawled underneath the smoke to a porch, where he was later found. Both of these details were noted in a 2016 retrospective in the Lumina News.[3]

[3] Watch the film for more a detailed account of what was happening on the fireground, as first Dennison was located, and then Wynn.[3]

By about 10 to 12 minutes after arrival, the Doak building was fully involved and the club building was becoming fully involved. Dennison was the first to be found, followed by Wynn.

Both Firefighters Found

Crews found Wynn on the rear balcony with flames above them. They used a ladder to rescue him. Wynn was unconscious and found in a fetal position. As the chief recalled, he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on arrival at New Hanover Memorial Hospital.[4]

[4] His certificate of death listed thermal burns and smoke inhalation as the cause of death.

Dennison was transported to Cape Fear Hospital (in Fayetteville?) with second- and third-degree burns over 25 percent of his body, reported the News & Observer. He spent 82 days in the hospital before eventually returning to duty and continue to serve in the then all-volunteer department.

Robert Wynn worked as an assistant manager at the Blockade Runner Hotel. He had responded from the hotel that morning just as he was getting ready to go off shift. He had moved to Wrightsville Beach from Beech Mountain, where he had worked in the Parks and Recreation Department. At the time of the fire, he was considering moving back to Greenville, SC, to resume a career in parks and recreation and take care of his ailing father, noted the department’s web site. 

The Aftermath

Among the safety measures implemented after the fire included a town bond measure to improve a new water systems for the beach[5], passage of a residential sprinkler ordinance, and purchasing personal alert system devices for the fire department. Radios were improved, more pagers were purchased, and the town board was more supportive of the department and its requests, recounted Chief Ward.

[5] As recounted in the film, the firefighters couldn’t get enough water from the hydrants at the time.

The fire was investigated by the town police department, the county sheriff’s office, the State Bureau of Investigation, and several insurance agencies. No definitive cause was ever determined.

The Doak apartment building–a colonial-style structure with three stories and 14 apartments–was erected in 1935, and originally named the Beaty Apartments. Both the Doak and Seaside Club buildings were completely destroyed within three hours.

Courtesy Wrightsville Beach Fire Department

Memorial Dedicated in 1983

In May 1983, a memorial was dedicated to Wynn at the area of what was then called the Municipal Dock. Today, it’s named Wynn Plaza.

Recounted the department’s web site, the Harbor Island Garden Club assisted in landscaping and was instrumental in the dedication that was conducted in May of 1983. A flagpole was donated by J. C. Drewry, from the old post office at Station 1. The Parks and Recreation Department arranged the memorial and Public Works placed the flagpole into position.

Today, the department maintains the flag at Wynn Plaza as a tribute to the man who gave his life in the service of his community on December 6, 1981.

In 2001 the park was remodeled and rededicated as a new symbol of co-operation and public spirit that Wynn represented. The project was completed through the efforts of other dedicated citizens, the members of the Wrightsville Beach Volunteer Firefighters Association, and an extensive partnership of community leaders.  

In 2016, on the 35th anniversary of the fire, a remembrance ceremony was held at Wynn Plaza, where the department debuted its newly formed honor guard.

Sources/References

Lumina News, December 7, 2016, Town remembers Wynn 35 years after deadly fire
https://luminanews.com/2016/12/town-remembers-wynn-35-years-deadly-fire/

News & Observer, December 7, 1983, Beach Blaze traps, kills firefighter, via NewsBank, via State Library of North Carolina access, https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/research/information-researchers/online-resources

Orange St Films, December 7, 2018, Doak Apartments Fire – 1981 – Wrightsville Beach Fire Department, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk8HGkbvA5c

Wrightsville Beach Fire Department history, https://www.townofwrightsvillebeach.com/253/History-of-the-Fire-Department