Nine firefighters killed

last updated 8 January 2015

Charleston, S.C.

Nine Charleston firefighters died this week when the roof of a burning furniture warehouse collapsed on them. With the exception of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, it marks the single greatest loss of firefighters in the U.S. in three decades. Witnesses said the blaze spread quickly throughout the building, which did not have a sprinkler system, and that flames seemed to appear out of nowhere. Local teacher Mark Hilton said that as he watched the warehouse burn, “I saw a fireman come out bawling his eyes out. It was then that I knew something bad had happened.”