9 'Died As Heroes': Charleston Officials Have Offered Few Specifics About Firefighters

Jun 20, 04:02 AM

Current Headlines: By Rick Brundrett, Adam Beam and Jason Ryan, The State, Columbia, S.C.

Jun. 20--CHARLESTON -- It's unclear why so many firefighters -- at least 16 -- were inside a burning furniture store when a roof collapsed, killing nine and briefly trapping seven in the worst firefighting tragedy in the country since 9/11.

National firefighting safety standards dictate that firefighters should work from the outside of raging fires to keep them from spreading.

The only time firefighters are to risk their lives inside burning buildings is when "there is a potential to save endangered lives," according to standards from the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit firefighting safety organization.

Firefighters knew at least one person was inside the burning, smoke-filled Sofa Super Store, Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas said. Firefighters rescued that person, who is believed to be a store employee.

But officials did not give a sequence of events as to when firefighters rescued the person and when the roof collapsed.

"It would seem like they probably should have been out of the building long before they were," said Carl Peterson, director of the public fire protection division for the National Fire Protection Association.

Asked if it was standard procedure for that many firefighters to be inside a burning building, Thomas said, "They were doing what they were trained to do."

'THOSE GUYS DIED AS HEROES'

Assistant Charleston Fire Chief Larry Garvin entered the Sofa Super Store three times Monday night.

Each time, he said, the smoke got thicker -- the atmosphere blackened by the burning couches, tables and recliners that covered the showroom floor.

"You can't see your hand in front of your face," said Garvin. "Just like an oil field burning."

After leaving the warehouse the third time, he ran with other firefighters to the back of the warehouse.

They had gotten word that an employee was inside and on the phone with an emergency dispatcher, pleading for help and banging on the rear metal wall.

Firefighters found him by listening for the sound of banging and chopped a hole through the wall with axes, allowing him to escape.

But the thickening smoke inside was hiding the spreading fire under the roof, Garvin said.

While some firefighters were working at the back of the store, other firefighters remained inside the building, Garvin said.

Those firefighters, trained to follow their hoses into burning buildings to avoid getting lost, apparently abandoned the hose in hopes of getting out of the building, Garvin said.

Many of the bodies were found away from the hoses, he said, amid the clutter of furniture on the warehouse floor.

"That's the fastest I've seen fire walk through a building in my 34 years, said Garvin, 55. "Those guys died as heroes."

SPRINKLERS NOT REQUIRED

City and county officials offered few specifics about how the fire started at the store, located on Savannah Highway on the city's west side, or details about how the firefighters perished.

At least seven firefighters who were trapped managed to escape, Thomas said, though the extent of their injuries wasn't known.

The fire started around 7 p.m. Monday, but it's unclear when firefighters arrived at the scene or when the roof collapsed.

Thomas, the fire chief, said the bodies were found throughout the building, though he gave no specifics. He said his firefighters were familiar with the building and were not rushing into a place they didn't know.

The roof of the 30,000-plus-square-foot store collapsed, though officials couldn't say Tuesday whether falling debris contributed to their deaths. Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten said the official cause of deaths wouldn't be known until autopsies were completed, possibly as soon as today.

Awendaw Fire Lt. Peter Rogers, who was at the scene Monday night as a volunteer with the Charleston County Fire and Rescue squad, said the large amount of furniture likely acted as a heavy "fuel load" that increased the fire's intensity.

That, in turn, could have caused the roof to collapse quickly, he said.

Several windows were blown out during the blaze, Thomas said, but he didn't know if that was caused by a "flashover" explosion.

"Firefighters had to keep fighting the fire in their midst," Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said. "Only after the fire was subdued were they able to determine who was there and who might be missing."

Riley said the cause of the fire is not known, but there is no evidence it was arson.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the State Law Enforcement Division are directing the investigation, he said.

A sprinkler system "probably would have slowed (the fire) down," Thomas said, stopping short of saying whether it could have saved the firefighters' lives.

City building codes didn't require installation of a sprinkler system when the store was constructed about 50 years ago, Riley said.

FIRE DEATHS RARE

The firefighters who died ranged in age from 27 to 56 and had been with the department from 18 months to 32 years, according to information provided by the city.

"We lost over a hundred years of service," Thomas said.

The group included three captains, two engineers, an assistant engineer and three firefighters.

Six of the nine were from one station, two from another and the ninth from a third station, Thomas said.

On-duty firefighter deaths have averaged about 100 per year since 2000, not including the 340 firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks on New York City.

But it's rare for firefighters to die in a fire, according to statistics. Most deaths came from heart attacks or other causes, such as car accidents or getting hit by vehicles at fire scenes.

Since 2000, an average of 10 firefighters died per year from fire-related injuries.

"It's a fairly rare occasion when a firefighter dies in a structure fire," said Peterson, of the National Fire Protection Association. "Forty-five to 50 percent are heart attack cases."

Columbia Fire Chief Bradley Anderson said firefighters from around the state were ready to mobilize in Charleston.

"Right now, Charleston firefighters on duty in those stations. appear to be clamoring to be at work rather than be at home," said Anderson, who is serving on a task force of fire chiefs from around the state to provide support to the Charleston Fire Department.

Charleston Fire Department engineer Ben Waring, also fire chief at Pine Ridge Fire Department, a mostly volunteer department serving the lower south end of Berkeley County, responded to Monday's fire.

Waring knew all nine firefighters lost, including friends Michael French and Brandon Thompson -- the only two captains at Pine Ridge. A minister was expected to say prayers and talk with firefighters at Pine Ridge today.

"It's devastating," Waring said. "It's just something you wish could be a dream. Wake up tomorrow and it'll be all gone. We're holding on.

"We're gonna pull through it 'cause that's what they would want us to do."

Staff writer Lee Higgins contributed to this report.

MULTIPLE FIREFIGHTER DEATHS

Other cases in which large numbers of firefighters were killed

Sept. 11, 2001 -- 343 killed in terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City

July 6, 1994 -- 14 killed in a wildfire near Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Oct. 17, 1966 -- 12 killed in a commercial building fire in New York City

July 23, 1984 -- 10 killed in explosion at an oil refinery in Romeoville, Ill.

Dec. 3, 1999 -- Six killed at the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse in Worcester, Mass.

June 29, 1990 -- Six killed in a wildfire in Tonto National Forest near Payson, Ariz.

Nov. 29, 1988 -- Six killed in explosion at a construction site in Kansas City, Mo.

Oct. 26, 2006 -- Five killed by arson wildfire in foothills about 90 miles east of Los Angeles

July 1, 1988 -- Five killed at an auto dealership in Hackensack, N.J.

SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association

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