Ret. Chief Tom Carr came from one of the nation's best departments (MCFRS), and then transformed CFD into another amazing department. He passed away from Parkinsons less than a month before this video was uploaded, on 04/24/13. Ultimate respect and kudos for him and the Charleston 9

Rip uncle Melvin you're truly missed. 9 years and it still hurts love you! And rip to the rest of the fallen firefighters and to the families/ friends and all effected❤️

Being a South Carolina firefighter this by far was the hardest funerals I've ever had to attend. It was hard to stand in formation and hold back tears as I watched our brothers being laid to rest.

Tonight, I decided to locate my friend only to find his memorial. I am deeply sadden by this discovery. Melvin thank you for being such a blessing in my life. You'll be forever missed. Tacoma UNITY TKD forever!!! Kiaaaaaaaaaah!

We can relate. We had the Worcester 6. December 3, 1999. R.I.P. to the heroic Charleston 9 and the Worcester 6.

As a firefighter for 30 years in South Carolina this was devastating to me. Attending the funeral hit me the hardest.

I’m watching and learning as much as I can about firefighting in hopes I can one day call my self a firefighter.

My father who worked at Cabin Fire Dept in Montgomery with Chef Carr when he was just a paramedic, sent me this video.... He said Chef Carr was a great man !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have 30 years in the fire service. I recently was mandated to attend a lecture, a lecture from a firefighter that was on scene of that fire, that day. I sat in the back row like a senior guy, I have watched this video numerous times , talked to my boys ( both cops ) and today my wife ( a nurse ). It’s a struggle. God bless them.

brandon tied the halyard of number 10s flagpole to the hitch of my truck and forgot to tell me the next morning flagpole was bent about 10 degrees before he came running out and beat on the back of my truck and stopped me. i almost took that 40 foot flagpole home with me. got stories about all 9 of them. worked with every one of them except champaigne. met him though. very mellow sweet guy. didnt necessarily get along with all 9 of them but i loved all of them and would have took any one of their places.

This is a great tribute to the amazing Charleston 9, the whole CFD and the families.

we will never forget, 6/18/2007... rest in peace

"Change isn't easy, but it is necessary"... A hard truth, but a necessary one.

Thank you for this video. I tip my hat to your department , and want to pray for all of you as tomorrow comes. God Bless.

Just found this video and was deeply moved. Thank you so much for your service. Kudos to the department and the city for honoring your fallen brothers by taking the steps necessary to prevent future loss. RIP to all of the brave men who completed their service on this fateful day and my deepest condolences to their loved ones.

my uncle Melvin champagne rip

R.I.P of 9 and 343

I miss my uncle earl so much I wish he was here

Excellent, Heart-warming video. I salute every Firefighter now serving unselfishly across this nation. Civilians will never quite understand WHY we do what we do. As times get more difficult in certain cities because of the economy. Somehow. Firefighters always manage to CARRY ON. God Bless All of You. The people will never understand.

WOW...watching this video needs to be part of orientation of every local official...who thinks fixing problems is unnessary...the day after the funeral they finally get it...sad

God bless you. Thank you for your service

Chief though I never met you I can tell by your eyes and the inspirational words of your men you are a Hero !!! I have been a professional Firefighter for 18 years and my father was a Battalion Chief who I often use a guide in my life.

thank every one of u for all your hard work of keeping of streets safe god bless u all and your family s

I don't even know how I came about watching this video I was looking at watch ads but me and my son are firefighters my heart goes out to you

wow, very moving documentary even in the uk, years on.... Stay safe

Great tribute - thank you to everyone who made this happen

Thank you.

Mayor Riley did the same thing in the 80s with the police department. He brought in a chief from outside. Great results. Positive change. RIP Charleston 9.

It must be hard to have Parkinson’s. My heart just broke listening to him speaking. Even so, he still got his message across. I was sorry to hear that he had died.

Phenominal video

Nothing better than a tough SMART firefighter. Kudos to the CFD for having the balls to admit that they needed to change.

That fire NEVER should have been Defensive. That was a tragic error. No blame to any Fire Service Officer. I work in a Prison where Tradition reigns even when it should not. It is a First Responder thing. We are all slow to move forward and adopt change. Bless all First Responders and may the Charleston 9 rest in peace knowing that they saved many lives in the future.

Excellent Job.

On the shoulders of the fallen, we learn, adapt and change. Pray for the families.

Rest In Peace Brothers

May god bless you.

It's going to be 17 years since the super store fire killed 9 men in the fire. God bless those who saved others first. 🙏

My son-in-law was about to go in to the building to assist the others to get out when the order to fall back was given, and then the roof collapsed. Had he gone forward, he too would have died as would have others. He lost friends in that fire, and he cried many times as we would drive past the memorial.

I remember that time very well we had about in firehouse that next morning that same month are fd had bad fire there some very close call and it was my shift was working that day I was but we very lucky God bless those guys RIP cfd brothers

wow...I never knew about this. What is the street that runs river to river? Pride street? or Haight Street? Anyone know? 2:15

Never forget

The ones who we lost will never be forgotten God bless the family's and u all my prayers are with u all

Good video. It is truly a gift from God to now have available treatment for all the brothers after such a devastating incident that all suffer from it. When I started, it was " go on the call, do your job, and when the next alarm comes, you pull your boots up and go. Don't dwell on it. It's a part of the job. We knew it when we got in ". Well, we all know that it doesn't work that way. Firemen were never known for being an easy but to crack. In closing, it is great that CFD has moved forward, not in reverse. We all love each other. I mean, just look at us!!! Don't ya see the resemblance ????? Good luck brothers and God bless all you smoke eaters.

DR griffen came to my fire hall today and talked to us about the Charleston 9 fire

Well done.

rest in peace

To the Charleston south Carolina 9 rip brothers your tour of duty is done we have it from here on out till we meet in heaven may the wind be at your back watch over your brothers and sisters who are still serving as firefighters as a retired firefighter in zebulon nc this still shakes me up avery day

These Guys are Heros!!

Riley defended the indefensible: those firefighters were killed because of pitfalls in leadership. It was horrific. Rest in peace to them all.

to the five dislikers I am sorry. Kudos to Charleston for leading and realizing what needed to be done!

Hey my prayers to CFD

I know these brave men died in that horrific fire, but how? were they inside and the roof collaspe. Either way thank you for your service. You have answered your last alarm, now RIP.

Captain Laval Green is actually my father. I was very surprised when I first saw this

Trained to become a Charleston firefighter in 2001. Quit as soon as I joined. Had 10 years as a volley in NJ and anyone with knowledge of firefighting could see this coming. In 2001, they still used booster lines as the main knockdown, the first line in. 90% of the fleet and equipment was 15 years outdated. And the arrogance and narcissism was rampant. Worked for another local dept. This was a horrible day that SHOULD have been prevented sooner.

A discarded cigarette on a pile of trash ended up killing nine FireFighters. I'm in Pennsylvania, I'm a Sister of a Retired VFF, I'm so Happy that my brother got out. My heartfelt condolences to the Fallen FireFighters in The Sofa Super Store.

There will never be a reason 9 firefighters die in one scene.

9.people......so sad

There is something very wrong with a culture that remains defiantly conservative, after being forced to implement LONG overdue change. The issues brought to a head by the death of these nine fire fighters were not new in 2007, they were new in 1967. The underlying regulatory issues were a major problem in 1867: Failure to comply with relevant building regulations for a large building open to the public. Failure to comply with regulations surrounding known fire hazards in the context of an industrial storage facility. NO AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEM. THIS FIRE WAS NO ACCIDENT. it was a disaster waiting to happen. It was caused by a string of negligence and incompetence. Yet NO ONE faced jail time for not doing their job, or not making the right decisions. These fire fighters WILL have died in vain, if the people responsible are not held to account for their negligence. If people get away with manslaughter, THESE KIND OF FIRES WILL HAPPEN AGAIN because people know they can get away with it. Perhaps fire fighters who attend these future fires will survive because of their new training, but these fires SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING, because these buildings should all have automatic fire suppression systems, that have a valid inspection certificate.

Went to that funeral at civic center I think it was.

r.i.p

🖤😩

So sad

Why isn't this playing for me??

Bet my last dollar "chief" never opened a roof in her life, definitely not with an axe.

RFB-KTF

I have a charleston 9 5 year anniversary t shirt from charleston fire dept

Your agency is blocking it. ;)

This video takes for ever to load.

This was a terrible job of chiefs and the mayor and the firefighter in doing inspection

(8 sec mrk) Really? Unreal. Yeah I said it.

U know what's crazy I have a shirt to my dad was supposed to be in that fire his name is Ronnie singletary fire department Nick name was sing sing he was supposed to be in that fire for a man on vacation and he came back early my dad was lucky man

This department, and that fire house in particular, had a bad reputation for never backing out of fires. Old school tough guy smoke eater stuff. It’s what got these guys killed.

Whether you know there are victims inside or not, the firefighting is exactly the same. Find what is burning, vent the fire room windows and put tank water on it. By then an entry team has been assembled, are fully dressed and the front door is open. The victims have been protected along with the entering firefighters. That's called responsible and effective firefighting.

The best homenage would be send to jail those who kill them with so low instruction level. A fire that size must not be combated with 2-1/2" hoses. Only master streams......and inside, they must be instructed beforehand to rip ceilings looking for fire extension.

1

Americans need a thicker skin. I have read the NIOSH reports on Super Sofia Store, Southwest Supermarket and others. And even though at the time the country came together on 9/11 and said "Never Forget" most have especially on the left. And I am a vff

This dept, barely had certified firefighters!! No clue how to fight fires!!

This is why you fight fires from the Outside In, Not the Inside Out! In this case, from the loading dock in. That includes opening ceilings along the way. With a 360, it should have been found. By the Time a Mayday is called, it is mostly Too Late! Thoughts of a Mayday have to start long before your first action. In other words, find the burning material from a safe place and extinguish it. Then, you move into the structure. Search and Rescue has to Follow extinguishment. Extinguishment and Cooling Has to lead your way to the victims. YOU are protected by your gear, victims are not. You start HORIZONTAL Ventilation AFTER the flames and the energy of the fire are knocked down, NOT before! If you have to vent to see, you vent the fire room Only and the water has to be ready to go. If you vent anywhere else, the fire will spread to that area because it acts as a new Pressure Release location and/or fresh air source. These deaths were caused because of Reacting instead of Thinking about How to approach fires in general. Your training has to focus on what Could happen in a given environment or situation not on how to squirt water or break windows.

This is only one of the many reasons you extinguish all Visible Burning Material from the Safety of outside before going inside. It is also a good idea having people on the department that are construction experts. Fire departments should recruit them specifically. You Have to know the construction of the buildings you go into and their condition during a fire. Training should come from THINKING, not from reviewing disasters!

the IC if they even had one must have lost total control of his crews why would you even go in that building? you can see signs of a flashovers coming. i wrote a paper com[aring west coast to east coast firefighters and east coast firefighters are very dumb.

Never forget