By Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Four former Charleston firefighters are suing Sofa Super Store, its owners and several furniture companies, alleging that they suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result of the 2007 blaze that killed nine of their fellow firemen.
The lawsuits, which accuse the businesses of negligence and reckless conduct, were filed in Charleston County by Edward Clinton Jones, Gary Taylor, Matthew Roberts and Eric Croft.
The lawsuits seek unspecified damages. All four men are represented by Mount Pleasant attorney Mark Mason.
The complaints are similar in nature to lawsuits filed by relatives of eight of the nine firefighters killed June 18, 2007, in a fire at the sprawling furniture outlet on Savannah Highway.
Named in the latest lawsuits are Sofa Super Store, the Goldstein Family Limited Partnership, Feltmann and Associates Inc., Miller Concrete, Conklin Company, Dupont Performance Elastomers LLC, Albany Industries Inc., Best Chairs Inc., Hughes Furniture Industries Inc., Motion-Eaze Recliners, Overnight Sofa Corp., Primo International, Pembrook Chair Corp. and Robinson & Robinson Furniture, doing business as Sofa Trend and Leather Trend.
Among other things, the lawsuits allege that illegal additions to the store violated building codes and allowed the fire to spread rapidly through the building.
The complaints also fault the store and its owner for allegedly installing highly flammable roofing and ceiling products and storing highly flammable furniture and other materials without “reasonable fire suppression systems,” such as sprinklers.
The lawsuits also target the manufacturers of the roofing products and allege that the furniture makers failed to warn people about the fire dangers associated with their products.
Mason did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday.
Sofa Super Store attorney Richard Rosen said firefighters have stressful jobs and are underpaid for the protection they provide, but it “is unfortunate that some have come to expect these problems should be compensated for by the victims of fires which have destroyed their businesses and livelihoods.”
The lawsuits state that all four firefighters were near the building when the roof collapsed, sealing the fate of their friends and colleagues.
All came away with post traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, flashbacks and other psychological and emotional problems “collectively referred to as a ‘nervous breakdown,’ ” the lawsuits allege. All four have since left the Fire Department.
Last month, Jones, a former captain, told The Post and Courier that the deadly blaze haunted his dreams and drove him to an early retirement. “My whole life has been turned upside down because of this,” he said.
The lawsuits state that Jones and Taylor, who also was a captain, participated in the search for their fallen friends, and Jones had to carry out the badly burned bodies of six of his comrades. The fire left Jones vomiting from inhaling smoke and beset with back pain, diabetes, sleep deprivation, skin eruptions and a host of other problems, the suits contend.
Taylor has gained significant weight and has high blood pressure, severe ingestion and other problems, the lawsuits state.
Roberts, a former engineer, and Croft, a former firefighter, also complain of physical and emotional injuries as a result of the fire, ranging from dry skin to chest pains and uncontrolled shaking.
Jones’ and Taylor’s wives are named as co-plaintiffs in their lawsuits, alleging that the negligence of the defendants has harmed the women by depriving them of care, comfort and assistance from their husbands.
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