The fire, which started in the loading dock of the furniture store, rapidly spread to the main showroom and warehouse, leading to a catastrophic structural collapse.

Despite initial firefighting efforts and rescue attempts, the poor water supply and lack of fire sprinkler systems contributed to the tragedy.

This required some firefighters to again exit the building to add additional sections of hose, and left only one small handline to hold back the growing fire.

At about this time, fire dispatchers advised the crews on-scene that they had received a 9-1-1 call from an employee who was trapped in the warehouse, which required some firefighters to direct their attention to the rescue.

[4] Despite efforts to confine and extinguish the fire, it continued to spread into the structure and ignited furniture in the showroom, growing more quickly than the few operating hose lines could control.

The Sofa Super Store site was on a major business and commuter artery feeding the suburbs and shopping centers of Charleston.

As the fire diminished and appeared contained, nearing 11:00 p.m., surrounding neighborhoods began to clear and onlookers departed, most unaware of the loss of life during the blaze.

According to Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten, the firefighters died of a combination of smoke inhalation and burns, but not from injuries sustained from the collapse itself.

[5] The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as always when a firefighter line-of-duty-death occurs, is expected to conduct an independent investigation of the incident.

The panel included Gordon Routley, Kevin Roche, Tim Sendelbach, Brian Crawford, Mike Chiramonte, and Pete Piringer.

[18] Brian Crawford, in an interview with KTBS-TV News, said, "That report is going to lend so much information to other fire departments across the country who may be operating the same way that Charleston was.

"[21] This included the lack of a structured incident command system, which led to chaotic communication, the use of smaller hose lines, which did not adequately protect the firefighters or stop the fire, and the heavy use of aggressive offensive attack strategies, which may not have been appropriate in this case.

Essentially, they found the Charleston Fire Department "was inadequately staffed, inadequately trained, insufficiently equipped, and organizationally unprepared to conduct an operation of this complexity in a large commercial occupancy,"[21] and concluded that the strategies the department had used in the past were ineffective in the Sofa Super Store fire and exposed firefighters to unnecessary risk.

Ultimately, "The final analysis of this incident does not suggest that any of the firefighters who lost their lives, or any of the surviving members of the Charleston Fire Department, failed to perform their duties as they had been trained or as expected by their organization.

"[21] In early 2010, Charleston area solicitor Scarlett Wilson requested a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) inquiry into the fire to determine if criminal charges should be pursued.

[23] The IAFF's General President Harold A. Schaitberger has charged that Mayor Joseph Riley and Fire Chief Rusty Thomas are not "labor friendly" and that Charleston is an "openly anti-union city".

[16][25][26][27] South Carolina governor Mark Sanford directed all state and local emergency response agencies to adopt the system in 2005.

[16] In a telephone interview with The Charlotte Observer, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley responded to critics by saying, "I have absolute confidence in our procedures and in the leadership.

[26] However, the fire occurred in a suburban district miles from the historic downtown, where the main exposures were one story ranch houses.

"[27] Charleston mayoral candidate Dudley Gregorie, referring to the incident, said "To keep doing things the same way, and expecting different results, is insanity.

[33] Analysis of photographs and video also raised concerns about firefighters, including chief officers, who were not utilizing personal protective equipment appropriately.

Fire Chief Rusty Thomas has indicated that everyone inside the structure, including the nine fallen firefighters, were wearing the appropriate protective equipment.

[43] Mayor Joe Riley announced on June 27, 2007, that the City of Charleston had reached a tentative agreement with Sofa Super Store owner Herb Goldstein to turn 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.

[46] On March 25, 2008, it was announced that South Carolina state lawmakers had approved a bill to name a 3.6 mile stretch of U.S. Route 17 in honor of the fallen Charleston firefighters.

[7][11]What happened in Charleston last night is an all too tragic reminder of the danger faced by firefighters and other men and women in uniform as they put themselves in harm's way each and every day to keep the rest of us safe.

I'd ask each and every South Carolinian to join me, Jenny and the boys in keeping these nine families in our thoughts and prayers in the difficult weeks and months ahead.

Responding to a fire in the West Ashley area of Charleston, these men made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our community in what was the single worse loss of firefighters since 9/11.

Our prayers are with the families and friends of nine firefighters from Charleston, South Carolina, who selflessly gave their own lives to protect their community.