AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain Crosses made out of PVC pipe stand in remembrance of the nine firefighters who died a year ago at this site where the Sofa Super Store once stood.

By Glenn Smith and Ron Menchaca
The Post and Courier

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A lone flagpole juts from the sun-baked dirt and gravel that cover a sprawling, vacant lot in the middle of Savannah Highway's bustling retail corridor. Nine white crosses made from sections of PVC pipe line the sidewalk outside a chain-link fence that rings the site.

The massive furniture outlet that once stood on this land is long gone, its charred remains torn down and carted away. But the legacy of the Sofa Super Store fire still looms large over this sacred ground, as it does over the whole community.

Nine Charleston firefighters died here one year ago this Wednesday, battling a trash fire that raced inside the store and exploded into a rolling inferno. The air turned black, the roof collapsed and nine men became indelible figures in Charleston's storied past.

The deadly fire left a city shaken to its core, reeling from a loss that came out of nowhere on a lazy Lowcountry night. The blaze is the nation's deadliest firefighting tragedy since Sept. 11, 2001.

But in some ways, the fire marked the beginning of the story.

Remembering the fallen
In the days that followed, hundreds stood in a driving rain just to look at the ruins, lay a flower on a memorial or light a candle in remembrance. Some 10,000 mourners from around the nation filed into a coliseum to pay their last respects. Others stopped by fire stations to give flowers, food, condolences and thanks. Some $4 million in donations poured in to a city fund to help the families of the dead.

But the grieving soon gave way to tough questions: Why were so many firefighters inside the store when it exploded in flames? How could so many have died?

The blaze sparked a thorough and often painful examination of the city's proud fire department that led to changes in almost every facet of its operation. In the year since June 18, nearly every question about the fire has been answered, save perhaps the most obvious one: What caused the fire?

Experts have suggested that carelessly discarded "smoking materials" were the likely culprit. Charleston police and federal investigators won't say what they think of that theory.

An investigation of how the fire started is expected to grind on for weeks, if not months, past the fire's first anniversary as police wait for a federal agency to reconstruct and analyze the blaze using computer modeling. Then, investigators will huddle with prosecutors to discuss possible criminal charges.

Sweeping change
While the cause remains elusive, the outcome already has led to sweeping change. A scathing report from an independent consulting panel found that the fire department's practices were 30 years out of date. This left firefighters utterly unprepared for the fire they faced that night, according to the panel.

The city is in the process of shelling out some $7.4 million in response to the fire, much of that spending tagged for upgrading the fire department's equipment, tactics and operations.

The report led to some hard questions for Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who repeatedly expressed unwavering support for Fire Chief Rusty Thomas and held steadfast to the claim that the fire department was among the best in the country. Only recently did Riley acknowledge that the department had deficiencies.

Each new finding triggered fresh debate and finger-pointing, and the long-serving mayor found himself tussling with a normally complacent City Council. He even sat down for talks with leaders of local and national firefighters unions, something he long had resisted.

The drumbeat of criticism prompted Thomas' abrupt decision to retire at month's end. Some of his top commanders are expected to follow suit in the months ahead. A nationwide search is under way for a new fire chief.

Harder to accomplish is healing those left behind.

Last June, firefighters exchanged hugs and shed tears amid the scorched and tangled ruins of the Sofa Super Store. But the questions since have created camps and divisions within a professional brotherhood once known for its unity.

Hard feelings also have emerged among some families of the fallen. The tragedy opened rifts about survivor benefits, wrongful death lawsuits and how best to honor the sacrifice of their loved ones.

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