- Author
- City of Charleston
- Title
- Sofa Super Store 1807 Savannah Highway Charleston, South Carolina. Fire Fighter Fatility Investigation Report. Phase II Report.
- Coporate
- City of Charleston, SC
- Report
- Phase II Report; Fire Fighter Fatality Investigative Report, June 18, 2007, 267 p.
- Keywords
- fire fighters | fire fatalities | death | fire investigations | building fires | fire fighting | fire departments | inspection | fire codes | building codes | building construction | void spaces | ceilings | facade | roofs | ventilation | water supply | fire hydrants | warehouses | rescue | fire hoses | rescue operations | management systems | risk management | prefire planning | communication networks | fire safety | fire fighting equipment | fire fighting vehicles | protective clothing | protective equipment | self contained breathing apparatus | data analysis | risks | radio equipment | training
- Identifiers
- Charleston Sofa Super Store fire, June 18, 2007, Charleston, South Carolina (nine firefighters lost their lives); building information; Charleston Fire Department; incident chronology; Phase Operations; fire analysis; incident management; building and property
- Abstract
- This analysis of the Sofa Super Store incident was produced by the City of Charleston Post Incident Assessment and Enhancement Review Team. The Review Team has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the incident and examined a wide range of factors that could have contributed to the tragic loss of nine members of the Charleston Fire Department. The ultimate objective of this analysis is to identify the lessons that may be learned from this incident, with the goal of reducing the risk of future occurrences of a similar nature. This report and the resulting lessons and recommendations are specifically directed to the City of Charleston and to the Charleston Fire Department and its members. The incident analysis is equally intended to provide important information for the families and survivors of the nine deceased firefighters. The report is also intended to provide valuable information to a much larger audience of firefighters, public officials and other interested parties to help them understand the factors that contributed to the tragedy that occurred in Charleston and the lessons that should be taken from it. The analysis is directed toward developing the most thorough understanding that is possible of the events that occurred on June 18, 2007 and the factors that contributed to those events. The Review Team assembled and analyzed a mass of information from numerous sources, including interviews, written statements and notes, hundreds of photographs, video images, audio recordings, files, records, reference sources and personal observations. During this process information was obtained from and shared with several other agencies that are involved in examining the incident from different perspectives and for different purposes, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Charleston County Coroner, the Charleston Police and Fire Departments, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).