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City establishes aid fund as fallen nine are identified
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
The firefighters who died in the Sofa Super Store blaze on Monday night ranged in age from 27 to 56, and had more than 100 years of emergency response experience among them when they entered the flames that claimed their lives.
Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten on Tuesday afternoon identified the fallen men as:
· 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.
In the wake of the tragedy, the city has established the city of Charleston Fireman’s Fund to collect contributions for the firefighters’ families. Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said contributions could be made by mail by sending checks to P.O. Box 304, Charleston, S.C. 29402, or in person at any Bank of America across the United States.
At Tuesday afternoon’s news conference outside the Lonnie Hamilton III Public Services Building, the event was one of pure emotion.
Charleston County Fire Chief R. B. “Rusty” Thomas Jr. confirmed that the Sofa Super Store on U.S. 17 did not have a sprinkler system owing to the age of the building, and said that in the aftermath of the tragedy state lawmakers need to make them mandatory for all businesses in buildings the size of the one occupied by the furniture retailer.
As to how such a system could have altered the events of Monday night, Thomas said a sprinkler system “certainly would have slowed the spread of the fire.”
Thomas looked to the ground and struggled for words that did not come when asked whether such a system would have ultimately saved his men’s lives.
No reason was given for the disaster, which started at about 6:30 p.m. Monday and quickly engulfed the building. The fire also destroyed three homes immediately behind the commercial strip.
The building collapsed at about 7:45 p.m., burying the men inside and throwing debris and hot ash on those outside.
Mayor Riley said arson is not suspected at this time, but said as a matter of protocol, the fire is being investigated by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“I urge everyone not to speculate on the cause of the blaze at this time and to wait for the results of those ongoing investigations,” he said.
Wooten said she would not be able to confirm the exact cause of the firefighters’ deaths until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest.
As he had said early Tuesday morning, Riley praised the fallen firefighters, saying they exhibited the “fullest measure of their devotion and professionalism” in the final moments of their lives.
“Yesterday at this time, they were firefighters,” he said. “Today they are historic, heroic figures in our community.”
He also revealed that he had received hundreds of phones calls from individuals and organizations across the nation throughout the day offering aid to the city and the firefighters’ families.
“Everyone knows a firefighter,” Riley said. “As a result, this tragedy has touched people all across the United States.”
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