By Meg Kinnard
Associated Press
 AP Photo/Alice Keeney A firefighter takes a moment after helping to put out the fire that claimed the lives of nine Charleston area firefighters at the Sofa Super Store. |
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The owners of a Charleston furniture store that burned down and killed nine firefighters agreed to pay $13,110 in fines but they admitted no wrongdoing, state regulators announced Friday.
The Sofa Super Store was initially fined $32,775 for three violations in the June 18 blaze, the nation’s greatest loss of firefighters since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The store was fined for having padlocked doors and cited for fire doors that did not work. The business was also fined for not having an emergency action plan in place for its employees.
The store also agreed to review fire safety procedures at its other locations.
“I would say that we’re satisfied that a reasonable resolution has been reached, and the company is doing everything they can to promote safety,” store attorney Robert Rosen said.
The settlement must be approved by the chairman of the state occupational safety review board, and regulators would not discuss the agreement until then.
Last month, the city of Charleston agreed to pay $3,160 in fines but also acknowledged no wrongdoing. The city was cited for failing to enforce requirements on protective gear and breathing equipment, and not having written procedures for command at fires.
The city has since changed its protective equipment requirements.
Officials still have not announced a cause for the blaze, though authorities have said the fire began near a loading dock where employees said they took cigarette breaks.
The Associated Press