COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A Charleston furniture store where nine firefighters died four years ago has agreed to pay their families nearly $2 million to settle wrongful death lawsuits, an attorney for the families said Friday.
The $1.9 million payout from the Sofa Super Store has already been split among the families of the men killed in the June 2007 blaze and marks an end to their lawsuits, said attorney Kevin Dean, who represents four of the nine families.
The deadly fire is thought to have been started by discarded cigarettes in a loading dock area. A 2008 report by fire experts hired by the city concluded inadequate training, outdated tactics and aging equipment contributed to the deaths of the nine.
NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Report
Federal investigators have concluded the rapidly spreading fire would have been contained if there had been sprinklers on the loading dock.
The settlement from the furniture store itself marks the end of the families’ years of lawsuits against the store, a roofing company and several furniture companies. In all, Dean said the nine families now have split about $18 million in proceeds from those lawsuits. The families of all nine victims also received between $640,000 and $775,000 each from workers’ compensation and a public fund for the firefighter families.
“For the families, it’s been a tremendous emotional undertaking that they can now bring closure to and feel like that they’ve brought public awareness to the issue of avoiding these fires and deaths in the future as well as adequately taking care of the families and the over 13 children who lost their fathers,” Dean said. “It’s been a long four years.”
Ten former firefighters who survived the blaze but were injured have also sued. State investigators have declined to pursue a full criminal probe into the deaths, saying authorities would reconsider if new information were presented. Families of some of the men have said they want state laws changed to require more accountability for fire departments in firefighters’ deaths.
An attorney for the store did not return a message Friday. Work began in March to create a memorial for the men on the site of the fire.
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