New Barber fire: Nearly 5 years after blaze damaged restaurant, home burns

BOWENS ISLAND -- Nearly five years have passed since Robert Barber's family seafood restaurant was hit by a devastating fire.

Since then, he rebuilt, put the oysters back on the kitchen steamers and attracted the regulars to walk the dock and soak up the sunsets.

For the most part, the October 2006 blaze had been filed away as a bad and distant memory. Until Wednesday.

Barber's home -- just a short distance away from his Bowens Island Restaurant -- caught fire at midday, suffering what responders calculated at up to 40 percent damage.

Barber wasn't home at the time. He was fly-fishing in a remote part of Canada and couldn't be reached, though a family member had been staying at the house, neighbors said.

James Island Fire Chief Chris Seabolt said the fire apparently started in a clothes dryer that had what looked like towels and rags inside. He termed the fire accidental.

For the same person to suffer two fires in such a short period, "it's a shame," Seabolt said of the Barbers. A small family dog also died.

Witness Andy Weiner, who lives across the dirt road from the Barber property, said he smelled smoke around 11 a.m., and moved to locate the source. When it was traced to Barber's house, one of Weiner's sons, Eric Hudzinski, attempted to use a garden hose on the fire, to no avail.

"When he got through the front door, the smoke came rolling out," Weiner said.

Fire departments from James Island, Folly Beach, the city of Charleston and Charleston County Fire and Rescue worked the fire, which was brought under control in about 10 minutes.

The August heat made conditions difficult. "Guys can fall out really quickly. It makes it worse with the heat of the day," Seabolt said.

Barber is a well-known local figure whose family has run Bowens Island Restaurant near Folly Beach since 1946. He also has dabbled in politics, becoming a Democratic state House representative while running for numerous other offices, including for Congress and lieutenant governor.

Much of the original Bowens Island Restaurant was damaged in the 2006 blaze, but Barber chose to rebuild directly above the ruins, keeping the site's low-brow, funky atmosphere and menu of shrimp, fish and hushpuppies.

The 2006 fire apparently started in the kitchen, and investigators found no sign of foul play. At the time Barber said he suspected a frying machine was left on and had overheated.

One piece of good that came from the 2006 blaze was that additional hydrants were installed on 13-acre Bowens Island which were utilized Wednesday.

Hudzinski, the manager of the restaurant, had tried to douse the fire with the garden hose. He said the restaurant was closed Wednesday night, but would operate as close to normal as possible tonight.

Hudzinski suffered mild smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital.