Fire departments hold remembrance for Charleston 9 firefighters
SOUTHEAST, Mo. (KBSI) – Today June 18 marks the anniversary of one of the darkest days in firefighter history.
The tragic loss of nine firefighters that forever changed the landscape of fire service.
June 18, 2025, it’s been 18 years since 9 brave firefighter’s lost their lives fighting a fire in Charleston, South Carolina. Now their impact and their memory live on for fire stations throughout the country.
David Griffin, is the Charleston Assistant Fire Chief, and he was one of the firefighters working during the Sofa Superstore Fire. He says changes to training, staffing, safety, and more was made after the 2007 fire. The impact was felt nationally.
“There’s so many lessons learned from this event that have carried through for 18 years that have helped organizations change” says Griffin. “Thats why usually during this week departments will do a moment of silence.” “They’ll do something called a safety stand down where they will read or study the reports or listen to the radio traffic from that day because one of the most historic parts from our event is that there was a lot of departments operating the way that we operated. The difference between us and them is that we actually got caught operating that way and that’s where everything was brought out to the national level and everybody learned from us.”
Our local fire stations held a moment of silence and completed training today as they remembered the 9 lives lost.
Griffin says they held a luncheon for the families affected by the lives lost. There is a memorial dedicated to the firefighters, and they do a 24-hour watch that starts at midnight each year and hold a remembrance ceremony.
Griffin lost 9 of his firefighter brothers 18 years ago and he says June 18 is always a hard day for him.
“Its heavy for me today but I get up, I put my uniform on, and I come to work, and I do my job and that’s how I honor them and I’m proud to be able to do that” says Griffin. “18 years since then, I just hit my 20-year anniversary so I’ve kind of grown up on this job but also grown through a tragedy with the rest of our department and so todays a little heavier than most days. Things don’t really click really well. I try to come into work and do some work but things don’t really mesh really well so most of the time I spend at the site and I just try to get through the day the best I can and honor the families and be in remembrance for those 9 firefighters and what they sacrificed. “
Fore more information on the fallen firefighters and their memorial: The Charleston 9 | Charleston, SC – Official Website
