Nine Career Firefighters in the City of Charleston Died in the Sofa SuperMart Fire June 18, 2007

On this 12th anniversary we remember and learn from the lessons at the Sofa SuperMart fire in the city of Charleston.  Many factors contributed to the tragic incident, some of them occurring years before the call ever even happened.  This is a good call to honor the victims lost by studying and applying what you and your department would do when faced with a fire like this.  

Rest Easy Brothers

Captain William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48, 30 years of service

Captain Mike Benke, 49, 29 years of service

Captain Louis Mulkey, 34, 11.5 years of service

Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40, 12.5 years of service

Engineer Bradford “Brad” Baity, 37, 9 years of service

Asst. Engineer Michael French, 27, 1.5 years of service

Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, 56, 32 years of service

Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27, 4 years of service

Firefighter Melvin Champaign, 46, 2 years of service

Download the full NIOSH report here: