By Morgan Hughes
The State
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A professional firefighters’ group is raising questions about the response that led to the death last month of Irmo firefighter James Muller, who was killed when a structure collapsed on him while he battled a blaze at the Tropical Ridge apartments in the St. Andrews area.
The Irmo Fire Department was assisting Columbia firefighters in combating the fire.
In a statement issued Monday, June 19, the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina asked about the investigation into the fire. The group also alleges “years of … neglect” by Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins.
The association plans to hold a news conference Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
The association plans to share information on what it calls severe staff shortages, damaged equipment, delayed response times, and safety violations, according to the statement. The statement did not provide details about the allegations.
Muller, 25, died May 26 after becoming trapped after a structure collapsed while he battled a fire at the Tropical Ridge Apartments. Six other firefighters were injured in the collapse but survived.
On June 6, the fire department issued a statement declaring the investigation into the apartment fire over. It found that a kitchen stove and unattended cooking materials started the fire, which was ruled an accident.
The firefighters association has taken issue with several parts of Columbia Fire Department’s June 6 statement. The association is questioning the timeline of the investigation and the agencies involved in the probe.
The association is also questioning the statement’s assertion that assisting agencies were called by the Columbia-Richland Fire Department to the scene, claiming those agencies are actually automatically dispatched. The association also raised a question about a nearby fire hydrant it claims was out of service during the fire and was then repaired days later.
The State has reached out to the Columbia-Richland Fire Department and the City of Columbia for a response to the association’s claims and questions. The State has also reached out to Roger Odachowski, president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina.
The fire department has struggled with staffing issues in the past. In August, the Columbia Firefighters Association — the local branch of the International Association of Fire Fighters — reported that multiple fire engines were off-duty because of a lack of people to staff them. The city responded by saying firefighters were taking too many sick days.
In April, Jenkins asked City Council to approve raises for firefighters to make hiring and retaining employees easier.
“Just to be candid with you, we are already losing people because we’re not paying them,” he told council members at the time.
City Council approved those raises along with the rest of the city’s budget in a final vote Tuesday, raising the Fire Department’s starting salary from roughly $34,000 to $43,800.
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