Charleston Sofa Super Store fire


The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire was a firefighting accident that occurred on the evening of June 18, 2007, in Charleston, South Carolina, resulting in the deaths of nine firefighters. It was the deadliest firefighter disaster in the US since the September 11 attacks. The fire, which started in the loading dock of the furniture store, rapidly spread to the main showroom and warehouse, leading to a catastrophic structural collapse. Despite initial firefighting efforts and rescue attempts, the poor water supply and lack of fire sprinkler systems contributed to the incident. The site was cleared after the fire, and a new fire station was constructed nearby.

Fire and collapse

The fire occurred at the Sofa Super Store, composed of a single-story steel trussed showroom building with a warehouse building located behind the retail space, located at 1807 Savannah Highway in Charleston. The building had no fire sprinkler system. Sofa Super Store had set up shop there in 1992. The fire started at approximately 7:00 p.m. in a covered loading dock area built between the showroom and warehouse buildings which was attached to both buildings. At the time, the business was open and employees were present. Charleston firefighters arrived on the scene within three minutes of the alarm, followed soon after by firefighters from the St. Andrews Public Service District.
The initial attack focused on extinguishing the fire in the loading dock area, with a secondary effort to search for and evacuate people inside, and prevent the fire from spreading to the showroom and warehouse. Crews entering the showroom reportedly initially encountered clear visibility with only very light puffs of smoke visible near the ceiling at the back of the showroom. Shortly thereafter, an exterior door was opened near where the fire was raging. Efforts to close the door failed, allowing the fire to enter the showroom. Firefighters were ordered to stretch two hose lines into the showroom to attack the spreading fire; however, the pre-connected hose line from one of the units was too short. This required some firefighters to again exit the building to add additional sections of hose, and left only one small handline to hold back the growing fire. At about this time, fire dispatchers advised the crews on-scene that they had received a 9-1-1 call from an employee who was trapped in the warehouse, which required some firefighters to direct their attention to the rescue. The trapped employee was eventually rescued by firefighters who breached an exterior wall to reach him.
Despite efforts to confine and extinguish the fire, it continued to spread into the structure and ignited furniture in the showroom, growing more quickly than the few operating hose lines could control. Meanwhile, efforts to stretch and begin operating additional hose lines continued. At 7:41 p.m. the showroom area of the store experienced a flashover while at least sixteen firefighters were working inside. The flashover contributed to the rapid deterioration of the structural integrity of the building, leading to a near-complete collapse of the roof minutes later. Many of the firefighters caught in the flashover were unable to escape and were trapped under the collapsed roof and shelving weakened by the fast-spreading fire. Several calls for help were made by trapped firefighters and efforts to rescue them were commenced. These efforts proved unsuccessful. By the time the fire was brought under control, nine Charleston firefighters had been killed.
The Sofa Super Store site was on a major business and commuter artery feeding the suburbs and shopping centers of Charleston. Car traffic continued unabated for many critical minutes in the initial stages of the fire, driving over water supply lines and contributing to severe water supply problems, as the supply lines snaked from hydrants in surrounding blocks up to away from the center of the fire. Eventually automobile traffic on Savannah Highway was stopped so water pressure would be more consistent, the traffic diversion causing surrounding neighborhoods to fill with stranded commuters and onlookers. As the fire diminished and appeared contained, nearing 11:00 p.m., surrounding neighborhoods began to clear and onlookers departed, most unaware of the loss of life during the blaze.
According to Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten, the firefighters died of a combination of smoke inhalation and burns, but not from injuries sustained from the collapse itself. It was the greatest single loss of firefighters in the United States since 343 firefighters were killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was also the deadliest fire in South Carolina since a fire that killed eleven people at the Lancaster County jail in 1979.

Timeline

  • 7:08 p.m.: First call reporting the fire is received.
  • 7:09 p.m.: Dispatched units: Charleston Fire Department Engine 10, Engine 11, Ladder 5 and Battalion 4.
  • 7:10 p.m.: Battalion 4 arrives on scene. Dispatched units: Charleston Fire Department Engine 16 and Car 2.
  • 7:11 p.m.: Engine 11 arrives first and reports a trash and debris fire that is up against the wall in the loading dock area, but that they have not yet entered the building to check for extension. Engine 10 and Car 2 arrive.
  • 7:12 p.m.: Ladder 5 arrives. Engine 12 is dispatched.
  • 7:13 p.m.: Engine 15 is dispatched. Fire crews enter the showroom building and find no obvious fire; however, some light smoke is visible near the ceiling tiles near where the fire burns outside. A door leading from the showroom to the loading dock area is opened by the Incident Commander, and the force of the fire pulls the door out of his hand. The inrush of oxygen feeds the fire and makes it impossible to close the door. Fire enters the showroom.
  • 7:14 p.m.: The Incident Commander reports fire in the showroom.
  • 7:15 p.m.: Engine 16 arrives and enters the showroom to join Ladder 5's crew attacking the fire from inside. Engine 19 is dispatched.
  • 7:16 p.m.: Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas arrives, several off-duty firefighters also begin to arrive. Engine 6 is dispatched. Inadequate water supply begins to be a problem, which is compounded by some hoses being run over by passing vehicles.
  • 7:17 p.m.: Engine 12 and Engine 15 arrive.
  • 7:20 p.m.: Engine 19 arrives. Problems continue with the water supply.
  • 7:21 p.m.: Engine 6 arrives.
  • 7:24 p.m.: Battalion 5 arrives. St. Andrew Car 3 decided on their own to respond and soon request more help from St. Andrews crews.
  • 7:25 p.m.: St. Andrews Engine 2 and St. Andrews Rescue 1 arrive.
  • 7:26 p.m.: An employee of the Sofa Super Store calls 911 and reports that he is trapped in the warehouse building. The crew from St. Andrews is notified of the trapped employee and attempts to locate him from the outside.
  • 7:29 p.m. : The trapped employee is rescued when the St. Andrews firefighters breach an exterior wall and pull him out of the building.
  • 7:31 p.m.: The first firefighters in the building have been breathing from their air bottles for approximately eighteen minutes and will soon run out of air. Conditions in the showroom continue to worsen while at least sixteen firefighters continue to work inside. Engine 3 is dispatched.
  • 7:32 p.m.: A firefighter inside calls "Mayday!" over his radio. Soon after, another voice on the radio is heard to say "Car One. Please tell my wife that... 'I love you.'" Another firefighter inside is heard on the radio saying "...in Jesus's name, amen." Chief Thomas orders his commanders to account for their crews and is told that some firefighters remain inside. One firefighter attempting to escape is trapped behind the large glass in front of the showroom, and is freed when someone smashes it as other crews prepare to enter the building to rescue firefighters in distress. An emergency alert is activated on the radio of Ladder 5's engineer, who is inside, but calls to that radio go unanswered. Several PASS devices worn by firefighters are heard, meaning that firefighters in distress have manually activated them or have been motionless for at least 30 seconds. Firefighters begin smashing all of the glass in front of the store to allow escaping firefighters out and rescuing firefighters in, but this allows large amounts of oxygen to reach the fire, which quickly begins to grow in intensity.
  • 7:38 p.m.: Chief Thomas orders a full evacuation.
  • 7:40 p.m.: Engine 3 arrives.
  • 7:41 p.m. : A flashover occurs. Virtually all of the interior of the showroom building erupts in fire within seconds. Chaotic radio traffic now ties up the radio channels, but calls about water supply problems continue. A final, unsuccessful attempt at rescue is made but quickly forced back by the intensity of the fire.
  • 7:45 p.m.: The front of the showroom building collapses, sending a fireball and smoke plume out the front of the building, over the heads of fleeing firefighters and showering hundreds of onlookers with ash and debris. Fire then shoots 30 feet into the air as much of the rest of the structure collapses.
  • 10:00 p.m. : After the fire is brought under control, the remains of two of the firefighters' bodies are found near the center of the building.
  • 10:45 p.m. : Charleston Mayor Joe Riley announces that several firefighters remain missing.
  • 11:00 p.m. : The bodies of two more firefighters are located about 30 feet from the first group.
  • 11:15 p.m. : Three firefighters' bodies are found at the south end of the building.
  • 4:00 a.m. : The remaining two missing firefighters are located at the northeast corner of the building.

    Fallen

Investigations

About fifty investigators in all were assigned to the investigation, including the City of Charleston Police Department, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, and the ATF national response team. The ATF confirmed on June 23 that the fire originated in the covered loading dock area situated between the showroom and warehouse buildings, in a pile of trash near an area where employees were known to take smoking breaks. Neither of the destroyed buildings had sprinklers, nor were they required by local codes to have them.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation investigated the Charleston Fire Department's procedures and training in light of the deaths. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as always when a firefighter line-of-duty-death occurs, conducted an independent investigation of the incident. The National Institute of Standards and Technology assisted NIOSH by reconstructing the fire with a computer simulation.
On Monday, July 2, 2007, Chief Rusty Thomas told the CDC that his department would not allow federal investigators to interview firefighters about the Sofa Super Store fire. On Tuesday, July 3, 2007, the head of NIOSH wrote to Chief Thomas, asking him to reconsider. On Thursday, July 5, 2007, the city relented when Mayor Joe Riley called the CDC to say that interviews would be allowed. CDC spokesman Fred Blosser, in an interview with MSNBC, said, "This is a developing situation. This morning we were notified that the chief has said that he will grant access to the firefighters. Earlier this week, he had indicated that he was denying access to the firefighters for interviews." Mayor Riley replied that it was all a misunderstanding. He said that Chief Thomas was merely trying to minimize the number of interviews of his weary and grieving firefighters, not to block any investigation.
The U.S. Fire Administration also investigated the fire, to incorporate lessons into the curriculum at the National Fire Academy.