The fines levied on The Charleston Fire Department and Sofa Super Store were...

Posted by greyghost51 on September 21, 2007 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Can't hardly blame the sofa store for not being inspected and told to get the fire system and make firebreaks in the store.

Posted by Hamy91 on September 23, 2007 at 3:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The Fire Chief is ultimately responsible for what happens within his department. The incident commander is responsible for what happens, both good and bad, on an emergency scene. These are the fundamental concepts of the incident command system. Those individuals are ultimately responsible for the deaths of nine firefighters and there WILL be accountability for it.

Mayor Riley is deeply misled if he believes that the actions of few on the fire ground are not the responsibility of the Fire Chiefs'. Had a proper incident command structure been utilized there would have been no one fighting the fire without the proper personal protective equipment.

Pride is the biggest killer of firefighters across the nation. No one wants to be told that they are not performing to the best of their ability and no one wants to be told that they are wrong in our profession. Firefighters will fight diligently to protect their image and their tradition. In this incident, there was a breakdown in the chain of command and a lack of foresight on behalf of the incident commander. The signs of rapid fire progression were ignored. A building size up as well as an initial briefing to incoming fire units was not performed. “Come to the rear” is not an initial briefing. The initial smoke condition on arrival suggested a very hot free burning fire (thick black smoke). The initial handline that was utilized to fight the fire was a booster hose that is about twice the size of the hose many of you use to wash your car. This is an indisputable fact because there are pictures that show an engine company in the front of the building very early into the incident with its booster hose deployed. BIG FIRE MEANS BRING BIG WATER!!! The building contained a heavy fire loading (furniture) that should have been taken into consideration. Smoke conditions within the structure throughout the incident suggested rapid fire spread and that an above head fire was burning. All of this was observed by the Asst. Chief and all of the warning signs were ignored or improperly interrupted.

This is just the beginning of the official investigative findings. I think that the residents of the city of Charleston are going to be very shocked and disturbed at how their fire department has willfully disregarded state and federal regulations. The actions of the fire department management personnel are grossly negligent and it is time for accountability. Stop snubbing your nose to subject matter experts that have study fire and the fire service for DECADES! The city of Charleston Fire Department are not know-it-alls and acting so in the wake of the worst fire department loss in the history of the southeast is appalling. This incident could have been avoided and therein lays the true tragedy!