Fatal Fire Report Cites Communications

A post-incident analysis of a Charleston (SC) fire that claimed the lives of nine firefighters in June, 2007 found that, “Communications problems and deficiencies played a very significant role” in the fire. According to the 272-page report, “Both operational and technological communications problems were encountered. The single radio channel used during the fire was severely overloaded and the communications process was not controlled at the command level.” The nine firefighters were trapped inside a large bedding showroom and warehouse when the fire leapt overhead, generating lethal flames and smoke. The report also states that the fire department’s talkgroup on the 800 MHz trunked radio system was overloaded during the incident. Download (pdf) the full report here and to to page 111.