Rookie Charleston Firefighter Was on First Shift at Deadly Fire

Jun 20, 05:41 PM

Current Headlines: By The State, Columbia, S.C.

Jun. 20--Posted 7:45 a.m.

CHARLESTON -- Scott Thomas was trained to follow orders, and never to be inside a burning building alone.

Following his training on both of those counts may have saved the first-year firefighter's life Monday when he responded with more than 100 other Charleston firefighters to a blaze at the Sofa Super Store in the West Ashley area off Savannah Highway.

It was his first fire, his first shift.

"I thought we were going to stand by for another station," Thomas told CBS' "The Early Show" this morning. "When we first entered the front door, my captain told us to go out and grab a hose. When we came back in, he told us to put our air masks on.

That's when Thomas' training kicked in.

"I had to turn around the first time to replace my cylinder, I ran out of air," he said. "When I went back in, I saw two other firefighters leaving, and I knew I couldn't be in there alone, so I left with the firefighters that were leaving.

"I guess I left at the right time."

Within minutes, nine of Thomas' comrades would be overcome by fast-moving flames and heavy smoke in the worst firefighting tragedy since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City.

Authorities are still investigating the cause, but say nothing points to arson. They say firefighters did nothing wrong, but fire experts on Tuesday already were questioning why so many firefighters were inside the building once the fire got out of control.

Check back throughout the day for updates on this story.

From staff reports

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