City of Charleston is Still Guilty

December 3, 2007 -- Following is a statement from International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger on a settlement the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Office of Occupational Safety and Health reached with the city of Charleston:

“This settlement is a travesty. It’s an insult to the memory of the nine fire fighters who died in the Sofa Super Store fire, to their families and to the fire fighters who remain on the job,” President Schaitberger said.

“Despite the formal, written request of the fire fighters union to South Carolina OHSA, and the mayor’s promise during the October release of the fire safety consultant report to involve employees (and their representatives) in addressing the department’s problems, not one of our members was asked to participate in this settlement process and it remains a complete mystery as to how OSHA arrived at this settlement, especially as it relates to items that they incorrectly assume are being fixed. It certainly did not do so based upon interviews with those who are most likely to be affected by its actions – the Charleston fire fighters,” he said.

“Changing a single word – from ‘willful’ to ‘unclassified’ – doesn’t change the fact that the city is guilty and was found guilty by South Carolina OSHA of acting in a manner that the department leadership knew could kill fire fighters,” he said.

“Why has the city spent two months negotiating with OSHA over the wording in its citation when it could have spent that time to improve a deficient fire department and protect the lives of fire fighters and the citizens of Charleston?” President Schaitberger asked.

“It has been made clear by the facts uncovered by a number of separate investigations, including the panel set up by the mayor, that the irresponsible manner in which Chief Rusty Thomas runs the Charleston Fire Department likely played a deadly role in the tragic deaths of the fire fighters. South Carolina OSHA is not acting in the best interests of workers in the state. And the result is already being felt by fire fighters in Charleston because this chief is already refusing to implement new procedures promised by the mayor and is telling fire fighters to get used to the way it was before the fire because that’s the way it’s going to be,” President Schaitberger said.

Media Coverage

Charleston Fined $3,000 in Fatal Fire (Associated Press)