Some of the Charleston, SC firefighters that were involved in the June 18, 2007 Sofa Super Store fire that killed nine firefighters may be charged with criminal negligence if the families of two of the firefighters who died in the fire have their way. Wildfire Today covered the report on the fire. While it was strictly a structure fire, we said then “there are some lessons to be learned that would apply to wildland fire”.
If these firefighters are charged with crimes, they would be in the same boat as wildland firefighters involved in the Thirtymile (2001) and Cramer (2003) fires.
Here is an excerpt from an article at the Post and Courier about the situation in Charleston.
A team of State Law Enforcement Division agents is reviewing records from the Sofa Super Store blaze for signs of criminal negligence on the part of commanders who oversaw the attack on the inferno in which nine firemen died, authorities said.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson requested the review after meeting with relatives of two firefighters who died in the June 18, 2007, inferno. Family members of captains Louis Mulkey and William Hutchinson gave Wilson eight binders of materials they say prove that commanders exposed fire crews to unnecessary and deadly risks with insufficient training and leadership.
“This is all about the truth,” said Randy Hutchinson, who lost his brother in the fire. “Wherever it goes, it goes. But the truth has to come out. It’s been withheld for too long.”
Wilson already has the results of an 18-month criminal investigation into the fire conducted by Charleston police. She received that case file in late 2008, but she has held off deciding on possible charges until all studies of the fire have been completed. One major federal study — a computer model to reconstruct the blaze — is said to be a few months from completion.
Previous reports have faulted the actions of commanders. A May 2008 report by a city-appointed panel of fire experts cited command failures as a predominant factor in the Fire Department’s unstructured and uncoordinated response to the blaze, which exposed firefighters to “excessive and avoidable risks.” The reports, however, haven’t touched on whether those actions rose to the level of criminality.
Randy Hutchinson, his mother and Mulkey’s parents are pushing for SLED to officially reopen the criminal investigation and conduct an independent inquiry into the actions of former Fire Chief Rusty Thomas and others. They contend that Charleston police have an inherent conflict of interest in the matter and they have little faith that police investigators even considered negligence by officials at their sister agency.
“I don’t believe the Charleston Police Department is competent enough to investigate the Charleston Fire Department,” said Mike Mulkey, whose son died in the fire. “A police officer is not trained to fight fires or know what to do inside a burning building. This is a like a fox in the henhouse. It’s totally inappropriate.”
City officials deny a conflict, and Police Chief Greg Mullen insists his department conducted a thorough investigation that explored every angle.
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