Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
As the third anniversary of Charleston Sofa Super Store fire approaches, four additional firefighters have joined the growing ranks of litigants suing the Sofa Super Store, its owners and other associated companies. The June 18, 2007 fire killed 9 Charleston firefighters, making it one of the worst LODD incidents in US after the World Trade Center attack which killed 343 firefighters.
In addition to wrongful death lawsuits filed by the families of the deceased firefighters, four firefighters (Edward Clinton Jones, Gary Taylor, Matthew Roberts and Eric Croft.) filed suits in January, 2010 against the owners accusing the businesses of negligence and reckless conduct.
On June 1, 2010, four more fire fighters (Captains Kevin Storo, Patrick Sandford, Thomas Buell and firefighter Jerry Winn) and their wives filed four separate lawsuits in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas, accusing the businesses of negligence and reckless conduct. The suits also named the manufacturers of the roofing products and furniture sold by the store as defendants under a failure to warn theory for not warning about the high flammability of their products.
The firefighters allege that they were near the building when the roof collapsed, participated in rescue and recovery efforts, and experienced extreme mental and emotional distress leading to post traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, depression, flashbacks and physical symptoms. The wives of Storo, Buell and Winn allege that defendant’s conduct “caused them to be deprived of care, comfort and assistance from their husbands…”
All the four firefighters left the fire department taking disability retirements after the incident.
