Nine Firefighters Dead: Biggest Lost since 9/11.

Monday night around 7 PM, the Sofa Super Store located on Savannah Highway (HWY 17) in Charleston, SC caught fire due to a fire that started in a trash bin behind the store. Firefighters rushed inside the massively large store which was not equipped with sprinklers to make sure no employees were trapped inside; the fire hadn't even reached the building. However, within a matter of minutes after these firefighters rushed inside the building, a massive fireball blew through the building as the fire managed to bust down a door. It wasn't long before the roof of the building collapsed, trapping the nine men inside the building with no way of escape. All nine died. This is the biggest lost of firefighters since 9/11 and quickly became national headline news (CNN, NBC, Statements issued by the White House from President Bush).

The Sofa Super Store is located 5 minutes from my grand parents house and I was at their house the night this fire took place. Although, we didn't realize it until my cousin called asking if we were burning furinture did we hear about the fire. They closed down all of HWY 17, and it wasn't until the next morning that Charleston found out it had lost 9 firefighters in the fire; they were just doing their job. It's a very tragic story because these men were fathers, sons, brothers and husbands; they lead lives aside from the fire department and held different jobs ranging from barber to coach. And while the actual event is nothing compared to 9/11, the lost of nine firefighters gives the same feeling through out the city; mourning, saddness and pain. My heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones and makes me cherish mine even more to know that they are still okay and in the world...I have an uncle who was a firefighter for many years.

You can see all news coverage here: http://www.charleston.net/