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Firefighters from across the nation pay their respects
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
As helicopters whirred overhead and a string of black hearses awaited them outside, the nine Charleston firefighters who lost their lives in the Sofa Super Store furniture store on Monday night were remembered not just for their heroism and devotion to community, but as neighbors, fathers, coaches and members of local church communities.
Nearly 16,000 firefighters from across the country crowded into the North Charleston Coliseum for a morning memorial service that started out with a procession in downtown Charleston.
Another several thousand—some estimates put the number as high as 10,000—watched the event unfold inside the Charleston Area Convention Center and on a large screen that had been erected on the convention center’s grounds.
Throughout the early morning hours, as hundreds of firefighters marched from the city, through West Ashley and into the coliseum, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra performed a beautiful, but terribly sad, funeral processional.
The memorial began shortly after 10 a.m. with a procession led by New York City’s Emerald Society Bagpipe and Drum Corps, which led the members of the Charleston County Fire Department into the coliseum.
Before a stage festooned with the United States, state of South Carolina and fire department flags, the nine firefighters’ flag-draped caskets lay before departmental photos of the men.
The nine firefighters who died in the furniture store blaze were:
· Capt. William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48
· Capt. Mike Benke, 49
· Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34
· Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40
· Engineer Bradford “Brad” Baity, 37
· Assistant engineer Michael French, 27
· Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, 56
· Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27
· Firefighter Melven Champaign, 46
As each of the grieving families was led to their seats at the feet of the caskets, a member of the Charleston Fire Department placed an engine company helmet beneath the photo.
Stepping to the podium, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. asked a rhetorical question he’s posed many times since the night of the tragedy: “Why do they do it?”
“Because their professionalism, experience and training tells them they must,” he said. “These nine men and their colleagues are public servants of the highest order. They want to serve, to help, to save, to protect.”
And yet, he said, each of the men lost in the greatest single loss of firefighters since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 were also, in a simpler sense, “the kind of person you wanted to live next door to, the kind of person who could wave hello and make you feel better.”
“In a sense, they were at once your neighbor and at the same time, an example of how to lead our lives. Their example of duty, of service to others, of selflessness and courage—what President Kennedy once described as grace under pressure—will inspire this community forever,” Riley said.
Gov. Mark Sanford charted a spiritual course during his remarks, expressing regret that words were inadequate at times of great sorrow.
“We share your grief and we will lift you up with our prayers,” Sanford said. “For we know that come Sunday supper, there are dads who will not be home. There are $2 haircuts at the firehouse that will not be given. And there will be coaches missing from the playing field.”
In describing how he believed the men lived, he recalled a headline from the cover of Forbes magazine after its founder Malcolm Forbes had died.
“It said, ‘While alive, he lived.’ I believe that statement would be appropriate for all of these men’s tombstones. Because you don’t become a firefighter unless you’re prepared to live a life that’s fully engaged, all of the time,” Sanford said.
“You also don’t get into firefighting to make a lot of money,” he continued. “You do it to use your short time in life to help others.”
In the aftermath of the Sofa Super Store tragedy, Sanford asked those in attendance to commit to “acting on belief.”
“Who are we but those things that we are willing to stand up for,” he said. “Will we walk the walk in life, as these men did?
“On Monday, when the critical test of their lives came, each of these men answered the call,” Sanford added. “They walked the walk right into the company of angels and to the gates of heaven.”
Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff delivered a personal message from President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, offering their condolences and hailing the nine firefighters as “extraordinary Americans.”
“Each of these firefighters will forever have a cherished place in our hearts and our memories,” the Bushes said.
Outside the coliseum, current and retired firefighters were clearly moved by the sentiments expressed.
“To be honest, I just had the urge to come,” said Roger Cavin, a 31-year member of the Holbrook, Mass., Fire Department. “It’s a hard thing to put into words.
“I guess in a way, the fraternity of firefighters makes us a little different from other people. The things that make us respond to a tragedy in this way, are the same things that inspire us to do the job.”
J.C. Carroll Jr. was among the members of Washington, D.C.’s Rescue Co. 3 who began making plans for the seven-and-a-half hour trip to Charleston immediately after hearing of the tragedy, and would start their return trip home immediately after the service.
“Coming to Charleston for this … that was a no-brainer,” Carroll said. “Definitely. As soon as we heard we were on the way. That’s our way. Always.
“It’s just part of the tradition, what I learned from the older guys,” he said.
Greg W. Stern Jr., one of Carroll’s colleagues, said his immediate reaction to Monday’s night’s terrible news was a profound sense of sadness.
“You feel the loss for the family, for the children, and you feel a sense of loss for yourself. Those were our brothers in there,” he said.
Remarkably, both Carroll and Stern said they will be back on duty in Washington, D.C. as early as Saturday morning.
“We had to pull a 24-hour shift to be here, but we had to be here,” Carroll said.
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