By Nadine Parks
The Post and Courier
Copyright 2007 The Post and Courier
All Rights Reserved

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston officials and federal investigators have cleared up a misunderstanding about interviews with firefighters from the Sofa Super Store blaze, and investigators will meet with the firefighters next week.

Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said Thursday that Charleston Fire Department is not required to cooperate with the investigation, but he is glad that the city plans to do so.

"We are a prevention research agency," Howard said. "Our job is not to affix blame or to penalize but to learn from each investigation and disseminate those prevention lessons that we learn throughout the fire service in the United States."

The institute contacted Fire Chief Rusty Thomas on Monday to request interviews with firefighters. Thomas said he did not deny the request but that he did ask for more time.

"My guys, they just needed a break," Thomas said. "We just finished burying our people."

It is important that investigators speak with firefighters as soon as possible, because memory fades, Howard said. On Tuesday afternoon, he faxed Thomas a letter.

"It is my understanding that you have denied access for NIOSH to conduct its investigation and to allow NIOSH investigators to interview Charleston Fire Department firefighters as part of this investigation," Howard wrote.

Wednesday was a city holiday, but Mayor Joe Riley said that he called Howard when he returned to work Thursday morning to resolve the issue. Both men agreed it was a misunderstanding.

They said they agreed with each other that the interviews were important and that they would try to schedule them next week to run concurrent with interviews by investigators from the S.C. Office of Occupational Safety and Health.

"That's so they wouldn't have to do it twice," Riley said.

Ted Austin, Charleston's safety management director, said that the interviews have been scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

The institute has been investigating firefighter fatalities in America for about 10 years and reports its findings to the public and to fire chiefs across the country. Howard said the reports are meant to be a learning tool, and investigators are anxious to learn from Charleston's fatal fire.

"This is not only a tragic situation. It is an unprecedented one for the city of Charleston and for us. We've never investigated the multiplicity in firefighter deaths that we've seen in the sofa store fire," Howard said. "Our investigation is designed to identify the factors or circumstances that lead to the deaths and say, 'Here's how we can prevent this from happening in the future.'"