Students' deaths create profound sadness

South Carolina is grieving, the state's heart made heavy by the deaths of seven students in a Sunday morning fire at Ocean Isle Beach. The loss is particularly acute here in Greenville, home to several of the students killed in the fire.

Six of the students who lost their lives were from the University of South Carolina. One, a former J.L. Mann student, went to Clemson. The students were believed to be members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. ...

On Monday, classes took place as scheduled at USC and Clemson. Participating in the routine is deemed good therapy for people whose hearts have been made heavy by an unexpected and senseless event. Grief counselors were on hand to help students at the schools, and at J.L. Mann and Hillcrest.

Soon the greater community will know the names and stories of the seven students killed in the fire, along with the details of their lives cut far too short by a horrible fire. The students will cease being known just for being part of this tragedy, and they will be remembered for also being on someone's team, going to somebody's church, being someone's son or daughter. The pain caused by this fire will become much sharper in coming days.

And as it does, the families and friends of these seven students can be comforted in part by knowing their grief is shared by a much larger community, and that they are being held closely in many hearts and mentioned in many prayers.

The Greenville News

In the words of University of South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen, a sense of ''profound sadness'' has settled over his campus - and this state - as a result of the deaths of seven college students over the weekend in a horrendous fire at a vacation home on a North Carolina beach. That same sense of profound sadness permeated the state four months ago when nine Charleston firefighters died in a raging Sofa Super Store inferno. There is a common thread in those fires as well as one in a Greenville motel three years ago when six people died: The lack of a sprinkler system. ...

But the tragic deaths over the weekend should focus attention on the greater danger of death from fires to people in their homes. At the least, lawmakers in this state and around the country should require the installation of automatic sprinkler systems in all new residential structures. ...

The devastating loss of life that has impacted so many in this state in recent months should provide the impetus to the Legislature to make the strengthening of the state building and fire codes a priority. Meanwhile, the relatively small cost of sprinklers and the high risk of residential fires should be cause for homeowners to consider installing the systems on a voluntary basis.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier