| Nine "9" Charleston, South Carolina, firefighters paid the ultimate sacrifice 19 years ago on Monday, June 18th, 2007, while responding to a fire at the Charleston Sofa Super Store.
Rodney Baity (Engine 19), Michael Benke (Engine 16), Melven Champaign (Engine 16), James Drayton (Engine 19), Michael French (Ladder 5), William Hutchinson (Engine 19), Mark Kelsey (Ladder 5), Louis Mulkey (Engine 15), and Brandon Thompson (Ladder 5) went in to conduct an interior attack when part of the structure collapsed and trapped them inside. Firefighters on the outside were unable to reach the trapped firemen in time to save them.
The City of Charleston turned the site of the tragedy into a park with a memorial for the nine fallen firefighters. The memorial consists of a park as large as the former sofa store opposite the nearby fire station with plaques dedicated to the fallen firefighters placed where they fell.
A 3.6 mile stretch of U.S. Route 17 was named in honor of the fallen Charleston firefighters. The designated section, named the "Charleston Nine Memorial Highway", runs from the intersection with S.C. Highway 171 to Sam Rittenberg Boulevard and includes the site of the fire. |
