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Lack of water cited in deaths of nine firefighters
5/8/2008 10:43 PM

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By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press
COLUMBIA -- Firefighters battling a blaze that killed nine of their colleagues in a Charleston furniture store last year didn't have enough hoses or adequate water pressure to properly fight the fire, according to a draft of a federal report released Thursday.
Firefighters struggled to find a hydrant for one fire engine as the blaze spread, passing cars on the road beside the store kept running over hoses, and large-diameter hoses were not put into use until 20 minutes after the showroom where the men died was engulfed in flames, according to the report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The agency is still compiling its final report on the blaze. The draft released by the city late Thursday didn't include recommendations on how things could have been done differently -- those are expected in the final version.
It also does not discuss the cause of the June 18 blaze at the Sofa Super Store, which officials also have not reported. Employees at the store have said workers took smoke breaks near a loading dock that connected the showroom and warehouse, and the federal report out Thursday does say that 28-gallon cans of "extremely flammable solvents" were found inside the loading dock.
The report also sheds additional light on the confusion that enveloped firefighters as what was initially reported as a small trash fire turned into an inferno that killed more firefighters than any incident since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The 54-page draft includes a minute-by-minute account of the fire and a map of where the bodies of the nine firefighters were found in and near the store's main showroom. It also details the five minutes of chaos during which the showroom went from seemingly clear to a smoke-filled maze of sofas, tables and other furniture.
Firefighters trying to follow hoses into or out of the building ran into each other. Hoses burst and it took several minutes to get water from a tanker whose pump some firefighters recalled was "touchy."
The report recounts a scene 29 minutes after the first call of flames came in: Two firefighters sent into the front of the store to look for missing comrades found two other firefighters. One was on his hands and knees screaming, trying to drag a partner to safety. Just as the rescuers started guiding them to hoses to follow outside, gases and combustible material in the furniture erupted in flames that filled the building.
One of the rescuers suffered second-degree burns as the pair barely made it out of the building alive, leaving behind the shrieks of locator beacons from those trapped inside.
The intense fire and heat stopped two more rescue attempts, and two minutes later, Fire Chief Rusty Thomas ordered everyone out, according to the report. It is not clear whether the two men they had to abandon inside ever made it out.
Another firefighter recalled trying to follow a hose to safety, but his path was blocked when the hose went under a piece of furniture. He said he jumped over the obstacle, but lost the hose and his escape path. He followed a light and ran into another firefighter, who led him to safety.
In a statement accompanying the report, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley noted that such a draft normally is not released by the federal agency. Riley made it public after facing criticism in recent days for proposing to delay the release of a report by an independent, city-appointed panel so it would coincide with final federal reports about the fire.
The final Occupational Safety and Health report is not expected for several more months. Between now and then, Riley said the city and the firefighters' union will respond to the draft to help with recommendations expected in the final report. The city report is due out next week.
Roger Yow, head of the city's firefighter union, said the water supply issue has been revealed as a contributing factor and that the department has been working on improvements such as larger supply line hoses and better air packs. He said the "backbone" of the report will be the federal agency's recommendations for changes -- and said the union and its experts would respond to the draft.
"It's just going to take years to bring this fire department up to what it should have been," Yow said. "You can only do so much so quickly, but we're seeing progress in that direction."

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