By now I’m guessing that most people have heard something about the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina where nine members of the Charleston Fire Department lost their lives fighting a fire at the Sofa Super Store. I have included a link to a short story about the fire in today’s New York Times. This photo was taken at the scene by Tyron Walker of The Post and Courier, Charleston’s local newspaper.
Fighting a fire in a building full of flammable furniture without a building sprinkler system is a very dangerous assignment. We’ll know more about this fire and the fire fighting decisions in the coming weeks and months as the inevitable post-event investigation moves forward. Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen, has a piece of fire fighting wisdom that he shares with me often when explaining our Fire Department’s basic fire fighting strategy: Risk a lot to save a lot; Risk a little to save a little. It’s a concise description of our approach to an emergency event, such a large structural fire. I wonder what strategic approach was taken by those managing this fire scene. I’m sure we’ll hear more about that soon.
There are many families in Charleston that are in mourning today because they’ve lost a son, a brother, an uncle, a co-worker or a friend in this terrible loss of life. Firefighters across the country grieve for this loss too. They think about it every time they show up at a scene. Fighting fires is dangerous business. My heart goes out to those who grieve the loss of these brave men of the Charleston Fire Department: Capt. William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike Benke, 49; Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34; Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40; Engineer Brad Baity, 37; Assistant Engineer Michael “Frenchie” French, 27; Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, 56; Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27; and Firefighter Melvin Champaign, 46
