Services to honor 9 firemen

The Post and Courier

The public will have a chance today to attend a 10 a.m. one-year anniversary memorial at the Gaillard Auditorium to honor the nine Charleston firefighters who died in the Sofa Super Store blaze. But elaborate measures are under way to maintain privacy at a 7:30 p.m. ceremony at the fire site for city firefighters and the families of the fallen.

A portion of Savannah Highway between Dupont and Wappoo roads will be shut down for about two hours during the evening event, with traffic rerouted to Sam Rittenberg Boulevard. The state Department of Transportation has signed off on the move, and neighboring residents and businesses were notified this week, said Mark Ruppel, the Fire Department's public information officer.

The ceremony will be held under an enclosed tent, and screens will cover portions of the fence around the property to provide additional privacy, said Barbara Vaughn, the city's public information director.

Firefighters from neighboring departments had hoped to attend the evening event, and some Charleston firefighters wanted to bring their own families to the ceremony for emotional support. But families of the fallen nine firefighters asked the city to keep the ceremony as small and intimate as possible, Ruppel said.

Daniel Bilton was one of several St. Andrews firefighters who were heavily involved in the sofa store blaze. He and his fellow firefighters had hoped to attend the evening ceremony, but they are content to wait to visit the site. "It's really up to the families," he said. "You have to respect their wishes."

The city spent weeks working with the grieving families to come up with a palatable plan for the anniversary that would both respect their needs and the public's desire to share in honoring the sacrifice. Divisions among some of the families and intense outside interest made it challenging to devise a plan that was acceptable to everyone, city officials said.

The earlier event at the Gaillard Auditorium is expected to be a one-hour celebration of the men who died in the fire, Ruppel said.

Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Closed-circuit television screens will be set up so overflow crowds can still watch the ceremony, he said.