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Letter to the editor

State will investigate as fire questions mount

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 21, 2007

CHARLESTON, S.C. - How did a trash fire in an outdoor bin manage to spread to a furniture store and explode into a raging inferno that killed nine firefighters? And why were as many as 16 firefighters inside the place when the roof came down?

City and state officials announced plans to investigate as questions mounted Wednesday over the Fire Department's handling of a blaze at Sofa Super Store, the nation's deadliest firefighting tragedy since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Among other things, investigators want to know whether fire crews violated procedures and whether they were adequately trained and equipped.

Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. said that he was confident the department followed proper procedure but that the investigation is necessary.

"Part of the purpose is to look, for us or any fire department in the country, if there are lessons learned in terms of how well things were done or any aspect of it, " said Riley, who added that the inquiry would include asking whether too many firefighters were in the building Monday night.

The assistant fire chief who made the call that the building was safe to enter said firefighters initially thought the trash fire outside had not spread inside the store, but said Wednesday night he now suspects it was already burning in the ceiling when they arrived.

Assistant Fire Chief Larry Garvin said he made three trips in and out of the building in about five minutes and noticed the smoke getting progressively worse. But it still seemed manageable enough for firefighters to go inside.

"We went, with the training we have, knowing we could put the fire out and it just went awry, " Garvin said. "Things did not happen like they normally happen. If there had been fire rolling out of those back doors, I wouldn't have sent them in. I don't care anything about a building."

He said he suspects the firefighters who died got lost inside the building in thick smoke. He said their bodies were found separated from their fire hoses - their lifelines to getting back outside.

The first firefighters on the scene initially reported that trash was on fire in a bin behind the building, Chief Rusty Thomas said. As for why the fire could not be extinguished before it spread, he said, "I don't know."

The cause of the fire is under investigation by state and federal officials, but arson is not suspected.

[Last modified June 21, 2007, 00:32:17]