Look Back to Look Ahead
I never thought much about large furniture stores with their overstocked shelves, overflowing bins and maze-like furniture displays. I didn’t, that is, until two years ago, when nine Charleston, S.C. firefighters died in such a store. Now every time I walk into a large store, I stop to figure out where the exits are located — I want to know how to get out.
Hundreds upon hundreds of firefighters have died needlessly over the years, but none more so than the Charleston Nine. Their deaths have brought about much-needed changes, highlighted by the report compiled by the Charleston Post-Incident Assessment and Review Team.
Charleston has worked hard to implement the more than 200 task-force recommendations. The city hired a new fire chief, Thomas Carr, late last year. This week, John Tippett joined the department as deputy chief of operations. He is the last commissioned officer to be brought onto the department.
“Many positive things in the works right now,” he said.
Among those positive things is increased staffing. The department’s current 29-member recruit class will allow for four-person staffing on every apparatus. With SAFER grant funds, another 12-member recruit class will graduate in October and will become battalion chief aides.
“The department is also close to getting the SOPs completed and has been working with surrounding departments to have a regional response SOP,” Tippett added. “The departments have readily supported it, too.”
Tippett told me that as part of the remembrance of the two-year anniversary of the tragedy, the fire department has asked the city’s building department to pull listings of all the properties that have a profile similar to the Sofa Super Store. Fire crews have been visiting these locations and updating or creating preplans. The firefighters are familiarizing themselves with the buildings and meeting with storeowners about fire safety.
In addition to the prevention efforts, Tippet said the city also will hold a memorial service at the site of the fire on June 18. The city purchased the land and plans to use it for a memorial and possibly a new fire department headquarters. A period of time has been set aside for the Charleston Fire Department members to come and pay their respects. The site then will be open for the public to pay their respects.
“It’s a vacant lot now, but there is a small memorial with a post and American flag where the bodies were located,” Tippett said.
The fire service vowed to never forget the Charleston Nine: Capt. Michael Benke, Capt. Billy Hutchinson, Capt. Louis Mulkey, Engineer Brad Baity, Engineer Mark Kelsey, Asst. Engineer Michael French, Firefighter Melvin Champaign, Firefighter Earl Drayton and Firefighter Brandon Thompson.
Charleston’s progress shows they haven’t forgotten either.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
The panel’s findings point out that there were many points of intervention and prevention along the line that could have eliminated the fire hazards and addressed the deficiencies and would have significantly reduced the losses even in the case of a fire.
The panel’s report clearly proves that discounting the fire prevention and inspection programs a decade ago, contributed directly and significantly to the size and progression of the fire and the magnitude of the tragedy in Charleston. No, it was not only the tactical fire fighting decisions that were made on the scene on that particular night that led to that tragedy; but also the decisions made many years earlier to ignore the fire prevention programs and to discontinue the fire inspections. We in the fire service must learn that lesson, with the hope of not repeating the same mistakes anywhere else in the future.
We the fire service, must finally recognize that by cutting the fire prevention programs, not only do we “roll the dice” and risk the safety of our community, but also the lives of our own firefighters. The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire that took the lives of nine of our own brothers was an overnight tragedy; yet we must never forget that this tragedy was the direct result of many years of accumulated neglect and disregard for the fire prevention and inspection programs.
During these tough economic times, we must remember the lessons learned from the Charleston tragedy and have even a higher priority for the fire prevention programs. Fire prevention is just as much about the protection of our own firefighters, as it is for the safety of our community. Remember that cutting the fire prevention programs during the tough economic times, is nothing more than “rolling the dice” on probabilities and gambling on the future outcome. The consequences could far outweigh the perceived immediate cost savings.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Ozzie, Your comment is absolutely correct about fire prevention programs, unfortunately, we’re hearing these are the first programs being cut. Public education, inspections and training fall from the budget, but where else are chiefs supposed to cut? Most fire departments run lean in the best of times.
Keep pushing fire prevention Ozzie…we need your voice to remind others of the importance–and the consequences–now more than ever.
janet
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