Visiting the Charleston 9 Memorial

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By Chief Andrew W. Chanler
Geneseo Fire Department

My family recently took a trip to Charleston, S.C. to attend a family wedding over Easter weekend. With any family trip I always try and learn something about the area we travel to. Charleston has a lot to take back home.

On Easter Sunday, my wife and daughter wanted to attend Mass with other family members. I opted to stay with our six-year-old twin sons who weren’t very interested in church. Instead we took a short walk on Savannah Highway from our hotel and visited the memorial site of the June 18, 2007, Sofa Super Store fire that claimed the lives of nine of Charleston’s bravest. Neither of my sons really knew where we were going, only that there might be a chance for a doughnut if they followed my morning directions.

When entering the city, there’s a sign posted along the Savannah Highway that designates it as the Charleston 9 Memorial Highway. It’s a busy road and more or less is the "commercial strip" leading into the historic southern city. We walked on the sidewalk, past a car repair shop, and came upon the beautiful green landscape of the past fire site.

Walking past the chain link boundary fence was eerie, different from 2010 when I visited the site, only viewing it from the parking area. Morning traffic was quiet on Easter, compared to the usual daily roar of the four-lane highway. Walking closer to the center flagpole it got quieter, except for the questions from my sons, "Why did this happen Dad? How did the fire get so big? These firemen were brave, weren’t they Dad?" They were many of the same questions and statements those of us in the fire service asked on that fateful evening five years ago. I tried to answer the questions as best I could.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea bringing my sons there. Was I scaring them a bit that firefighters die? How was it different than my own father taking me to Arlington National Cemetery before I was 10 years old? Isn’t this something we should all do to remember our fallen soldiers and firefighters?

We stopped at all nine markers and read the names and the years of dedicated service. Both of my sons repeated my words when I read each marker aloud. I don’t think they were scared, I think they understood in some small way why we went there.

When we later met up with my wife and daughter, both of the boys told them a story about nine firefighters that died and how sad everyone is about it. There was nothing to say beyond their words.

As a fire chief, what I took away from the visit that day, is what a line of duty death truly is. Wow, things like this can happen in any town, to any fire department, anyplace. The nine men were doing their jobs and things went horribly wrong in a matter of seconds. From my own experiences, I immediately thought of a number of fires where I was either inside wearing SCBA or standing at a command post where things could have easily gone wrong.

My heart ached on Easter for the families of these nine men, and the men and women of the Charleston Fire Department, past and present. I hope that all firefighters take time to visit memorial sites like this one. It is important that we never forget our fallen brothers and sisters.