CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two families still waiting for closure after losing loved ones in the 2007 Sofa Super Store fire are one step closer to the justice they seek after receiving word Friday they’ll be able to meet with investigators from the State Law Enforcement Division.
In October, 2009, family members of Captain’s Louis Mulkey and William Hutchinson met with Solicitor Scarlett Wilson and provided her with 8 binders they call “reference libraries,” which included information that they say prove that commanders exposed fire crews to deadly risks with insufficient training and leadership.
According to SLED spokesperson Jennifer Timmons, the decision to review the materials and conduct further interviews was made upon Solicitor Scarlett Wilson’s request.
“This ability for us to go up and be interviewed by SLED is probably the best break we’ve ever had to get out of the Charleston atmosphere,” says Mike Mulkey who lost his son.
Randy Hutchinson says all of the information in the binders was professional and that they just want to get the whole truth out. He and Mulkey believe there is a conflict of interest, because the Charleston Police Department was the lead investigator in the case investigating the Charleston Fire Department following the inferno.
Rick Koger helped to assemble the materials in the binder and has interviewed numerous former and current firefighters who say they were not given sufficient opportunity to tell what happened at the fire and problems they saw during the months and years preceding it.
“Leadership laughed at other departments that did incident command procedure by the book,” says Koger who spent 24 years in the Charleston Fire Department before retiring as a captain.
Former Chief “Rusty” Thomas who retired after the Super Store fire told News 2 he did not want to give any comment on Sunday.
Koger along with the Hutchinsons and Mulkey’s believe more evidence needs to be considered as to whether or not criminal charges are appropriate.
Koger says the new review by SLED is being conducted by a team of investigators with fire protection backgrounds. The date of their meeting in Columbia is tentatively set for around March 26.
Republished with permission from WCBD