The Associated Press
• Read the Phase II Firefighter Fatality Investigative Report (pdf)
• Read the key findings from the report
AP Photo/Stephen Morton
Firefighters from Charleston embrace in front of the rubble of the store after the fire.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Inadequate training, outdated tactics and aging equipment helped lead to the deaths of nine Charleston firefighters fighting a furniture store blaze last year, according to a long-awaited analysis by fire experts released Thursday.
The report said firefighters did not follow standard safety practices and had obsolete equipment when battling the Sofa Super Store blaze. Earlier reports also have characterized the department as under-trained and overmatched the evening of June 18 as a small blaze in the store’s loading dock spread through the building and eventually overwhelmed firefighters.
The June 18 fire at the Sofa Super Store killed more firefighters than any emergency since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. A panel of experts commissioned by the city composed the report, and The Associated Press obtained a copy ahead of the scheduled release late Thursday.
The report also said that if a sprinkler system had been installed in the building, a former grocery store, the fire likely would have been confined to the loading dock where it started. The blaze was likely caused by discarded cigarettes, though no official cause has been released.
The report comes the day after longtime Chief Rusty Thomas announced his plans to retire, and one week after a similar analysis of the fire from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Safety regulations
The latest analysis concludes the department’s fire operations the night of the blaze did not comply with federal safety regulations, “recommended safety standards, or accepted fire service practices.”
“The culture of the Charleston Fire Department promoted aggressive offensive tactics that exposed firefighters to excessive and avoidable risks and failed to apply basic firefighter safety practices,” it states.
The city has already taken steps to address the department’s shortcomings, implementing most of the 200 equipment and training suggestions made by the same panel last year.
The new report also included a timeline of the fire and noted that fire officials did not quickly recognize that firefighters attacking the fire needed to be removed from the building.
When it became clear that some firefighters might be trapped in the dark, smoke-filled showroom, Thomas gave an order to smash the windows on the front of the building. That allowed air to enter the building and likely accelerated a flash-over in which the showroom quickly erupted in flames, the report said.
“However there were very few options available at that time,” the report said. “Firefighters were lost and either out of air or running out of air inside the building.”
The ideal way to remove the smoke would have been to punch a hole in the roof. But the report said there were not enough firefighters or equipment to do that.
Key factors in the Sofa Super Store fire
Key findings about the Charleston Fire Department from a report on the Sofa Super Store blaze that led to the deaths of nine firefighters:
- Firefighting operations at the Sofa Super Store did not comply with federal regulations, recommended safety standards, or accepted fire service practices.
- The Charleston Fire Department failed to provide adequate direction, supervision and coordination.
- The documented duties and responsibilities of an incident commander were not performed and risk management guidelines were not adequately applied.
- The culture of the Charleston Fire Department promoted aggressive offensive tactics that exposed firefighters to excessive and avoidable risks and failed to apply basic firefighter safety practices.
- Insufficient training, inadequate staffing, obsolete equipment and outdated tactics all contributed to an ineffective effort to control the fire with offensive tactics during the early stages of the incident.
- The Charleston Fire Department continued to apply offensive tactics after the fire had evolved to a point where guidelines called for defensive strategy.
- Factors that should have caused firefighters to be removed from interior positions were not recognized.
- There was a lack of accountability for the location and function of firefighters inside the building.
- The Charleston Fire Department did not have appropriate mayday procedures.
Key findings about the Sofa Super Store building that led to the deaths:
- The fire originated in discarded furniture and materials that had been placed outside the loading dock. The suspected cause of the fire was careless disposal of smoking materials.
- The Sofa Super Store had a very significant potential for a major fire to occur.
- An automatic sprinkler system should have been installed ... or the buildings should have been divided by fire walls.
- If a sprinkler system had been installed, the fire probably would likely have been controlled within the loading dock area.
- If effective fire walls had been provided, the fire probably would not have spread beyond the loading dock.
