Editor's note:  A special fund has been set up in memory of the fallen firefighters. Donations can be sent to: The City of Charleston Firemen's Fund, P.O. Box 304, Charleston, SC, 29402.

AP Photo/Alice Keeney Firefighters remain at the scene of the fire Tuesday.

Within hours of the tragedy that took the lives of nine Charleston firefighters, members of the state's LODD team arrived to offer comfort and support. For the remainder of the week they will be providing aid to the families and colleagues of the fallen firefighters who died when they were trapped in a furniture warehouse.

The group, operated by the South Carolina State Firefighters Association, was formed in January and is one of about two dozen such organizations in the country. 
 
"We'll be assisting the families with any type of needs they might have, such as picking up the children from school or going to the grocery store," said team leader Butch Womack, chief of the Easley Fire Department.

Womack's team will also work with the families and the Charleston Fire Department to orchestrate funeral and memorial service arrangements.

He said the LODD team's members have never dealt with a tragedy of this size.

"Most of us have been involved with funerals, but nothing like this," he said.

Roger Yow, president of the Charleston Firefighters Association, spent Tuesday with relatives of the fallen firefighters.

"This is by far the worst thing that had ever happened here," he said.

Yow said he was first alerted to the fire on Monday about 40 minutes after the call first came in.

"I got a phone call saying there were some firemen trapped," he said. "At that point it was just three, but then I heard shortly after it was 15."

Yow, who lives about 45 minutes away from the fire scene, then drove from his home to the warehouse.

"By the time I got there it was nine confirmed trapped," he said.

Yow added that while there were a "lot of questions" to be answered in the forthcoming investigations, right now the department is still in the grieving process.

"I worked with a lot of them," he said, "they were real close to me."

Other national organizations are also offering their support to those affected by the tragedy. In association with the IAFC, representatives from the NFFF are due to arrive in Charleston today. The local IAFF union is also offering assistance.

As a show of support, IAFC President Jim Harmes asked fire departments across the country to hold a moment of silence to honor the fallen.  

"Even as we feel numb at this time, we recognize that when our firefighters are at work, things can change so quickly and dramatically that the unexpected can occur, as it did in this case," Harmes said.

IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger added, "As firefighters, we know the risks of answering the call, but it does not lessen our pain when the worst happens."