By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – South Carolina fire officials are calling Monday night's fire in a sofa warehouse in Charleston the deadliest for firefighters in the state's history.
The fire tore through the Sofa Super Store and warehouse killing nine firefighters.
Jim Bowie is Executive Director of the South Carolina Firefighters Association and used to be a firefighter in Charleston. Bowie says teams from across the state are mobilizing to help the Charleston fire department and families of the dead.
I think right now what these firefighters need and their families need at this point is everyone's thoughts and prayers.
Two employees were rescued from the fire.
Mike Hilton stopped to watch the fire and says it looked as though it started in a building that connected a showroom with a back warehouse.
Parts of the ceiling of the front building started caving in and fire started shooting up out of the top of the front building and about the same time fire started melting the walls of the back building, the warehouse.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley says there is no indication of arson. South Carolina's governor has ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff to pay tribute to the fallen firefighters.