I have been privileged to work for the city of Charleston, S.C., as a member of the Charleston Review Team. This has enabled my fellow team members and I to bring the lessons learned from the tragic Sofa Super Store fire to several fire service organizations throughout the nation. We took on a job of stupendous proportions with the idea of being honest, factual and frank. And we have been told by members of the fire service that the report was just that.

The team dedicated all its efforts to the nine brave firefighters in the Charleston Fire Department who so tragically lost their lives in that fire: Brad Baity, Mike Benke, Melvin Champaign, Earl Drayton, Michael French, Billy Hutchinson, Mark Kelsey, Louis Mulkey and Brandon Thompson. I hope that the lessons we have learned because of these men do not fall on deaf ears. I am, however, fearful that they may be doing just that in many fire departments across this nation.

Why do I say that important lessons are falling on deaf ears? Here's one example: J. Gordon Routely and other task force members delivered an in-depth presentation about the fire to an extremely large audience at Fire-Rescue International in August. The presentation, like the report itself, is clearly divided into two equally important parts: fire prevention aspects and the strategy, tactics and risk-management aspects.

The first half of the presentation dealt with the fire prevention aspects. The audience was very polite, but the facial expressions and body language showed their impatience. When we started the second part of the presentation, talking about hoses, fire engines and the like, the entire audience perked up and sat at the edge of their seats for two hours. This was a typical reaction based on many other presentations we've made around the country.

After the formal presentation, we opened the floor to questions. Hands flew up in the air, but only two questions related to fire prevention — and one of those came from a friend of mine who I asked to pose a question. This was despite the fact that one entire slide in the summary read that, “The fire could have been prevented if the property had been constructed and maintained in accordance with state and local codes.”

There were thoughtful questions, however. One man asked, “Charleston is one of many tragic events in the fire service that has resulted in firefighter line-of-duty deaths. What can we learn from Charleston that could help prevent this from continuing?”

We discussed reactive measures like risk management, accountability and incident command. These items are highly important and we all must be trained and retrained on them. What gets me, however, is that the proactive elements of preventing the fire and its spread often are an afterthought, if that. The three Es in fire prevention — engineering, enforcement and education — are as important as strategy and tactics and they are directly related to saving firefighters' lives and preventing injuries.

There are obvious fire-prevention issues from the Charleston fire. The report can be downloaded at www.firechief.com.

Diagram A shows a layout of the building with additions to the left, right and rear built with the proper permits and exits. This was all according to the code at the time between 1994 and 1996. After 1996, Sofa Super Store employees built non-permitted structures — a wooden loading dock (done in two stages), two workshop rooms and interior offices (one of which bricked over an existing exit in the rear of the building) — and made other exterior modifications. The construction that was done during this time can be seen in diagrams B, C and E.

Code compliance issues — such as additions constructed without permits; lack of automatic sprinklers; inadequate fire walls; improperly stored flammable liquids, trash and debris outside the loading dock (where the fire began); smoking employees; inadequate number of exits, non-working fire doors and locked or obstructed paths to exits; and a holding room with no ceiling (diagram C) — were major factors in this tragedy. The lack of a ceiling in the holding room allowed the fire to get through open voids and above the firefighters, whose bodies were found in the main showroom area (diagram D).

When the building was last inspected in 1998, the inspector found exit obstructions, exit sign infractions and storage practice issues. But there wasn't much follow-up to this inspection. When the city began to follow the International Building Code, it discontinued the annual inspection program. Inspections were conducted only for new construction, change of occupancy and complaints. At the same time the duty to perform these fire inspections went from the fire department to the building department with little or no communication between the two. Fire department members made a pre-fire planning visit to the sofa store in April 2006, but it did not include code enforcement.

Remember, the fire could have been prevented if the property had been constructed and maintained in accordance with state and local codes. If this had been done, the additions would have been built to code or taken down. They would have had either solid two-hour separations or been sprinkled. The flammable liquids would have been stored properly. In all likelihood, the fire would not have spread beyond the loading dock and, if the building had been sprinklered, would have been out when firefighters arrived or have been easily on its way to being extinguished and been a simple one-line fire.

The fire-prevention aspects of this fire are obvious, and it is easy to see that a comprehensive fire-prevention program saves firefighter's lives and prevents firefighter injuries. Fire prevention is cost effective compared to death benefits and compensation claims. This, of course, says nothing about the permanent damage to a family after the loss of a loved one or about the pain and suffering that a serious injury can cause a firefighter for many years. A good fire-prevention program should be given priority and major budget considerations.

In the wake of the fire, Charleston hired a fire inspection supervisor to be the liaison between the building and fire departments, as well as supervising fire inspectors. The job now requires extensive experience as a firefighter. The city also hired a plans reviewer, again someone who must have extensive experience as a firefighter. (For an explanation of why these two positions require extensive firefighter experience, read “Inspectors Must See with Firefighter's Eyes,” January 2008, available at www.firechief.com.)

Charleston is considering a simple fire inspection form for all firefighters to use during walk throughs and pre-fire planning. All firefighters would be given simple and easily understandable training on the use of this form so as to know when to call a fire inspector. Charleston also is considering a business-community education program to explain clearly why fire prevention is everyone's responsibility, not just the fire department's. (Ed.: For an interview with incoming Charleston Chief Thomas Carr, see page 176.)

Charleston is taking fire prevention seriously. I hope that the entire American fire service can learn the real message from the Sofa Super Store: Proactive emergency planning takes the full engagement of a fire department and should be given top priority. This fire is a clear example of how a comprehensive program of fire prevention, engineering, enforcement and education is directly related to saving firefighter lives and preventing firefighter injuries. It is worth a significant investment of time and budget.

Do you have a building like the Sofa Super Store in your community? Are you putting your firefighters at risk?

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Chief Mike Chiaramonte, CFO, MIFireE, is a 40-year member of the Lynbrook (N.Y.) Fire Department and its former chief. Chiaramonte is a past chairman and board member of the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Board and past president of the IAFC Eastern Division. He's also a National Fire Academy Instructor and on the advisory board to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Chiaramonte is a state EMT-B. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and a master's degree from Hofstra University, both in communications education.