House Speaker Bobby Harrell calls firefighters heroes

House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement on the loss of nine Charleston firefighters who died last night in the line of duty:

Harrell said, "Our state is absent nine heroes today. Time and time again these brave men risked their lives to make ours safer, and now they have paid the ultimate price for our protection. The City of Charleston has suffered a great loss, but the entire state feels this deep pain. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones last night, and we pray for the continued protection of all the men and women around our state who are serving proudly has firefighters.

"Today the House will adjourn in memory of the nine firefighters who died in the line of duty, an honor usually reserved for a single individual but we felt this was an appropriate honor for all these men.

The South Carolina Firefighter's Association has requested that nine U.S. flags to be sent to the firefighters' families and the South Carolina House of Representatives will be sending nine South Carolina flags that have flown over the State House to the families of those lost."