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Back to web version Friday, Jun 22, 2007
Posted on Thu, Jun. 21, 2007
'When I heard them, it was like sweet angels calling for me'
By NOELLE PHILLIPS
nophillips@thestate.com
CHARLESTON — For two minutes Monday night, Jonathan Tyrrell III lay on the floor
of a furniture workshop, banging a hammer against a wall and praying someone
would find him before he died.

He had briefly spoken to a Charleston Fire Department dispatcher, telling him he
was trapped in the building and describing his location.

“Y’all’ve got to get me out of here. I’ve got a wife and child,’” Tyrrell cried into the
phone.

Then, the phone signal died.

So Tyrrell, 28, stretched flat on his workshop floor, alternating screams for help
with prayers to God.

And he kept banging that hammer against the wall.

It seemed like an eternity. But within two minutes of the phone call, firefighters had
smashed a hole in the workshop wall with axes.

“When I heard them, it was like sweet angels calling for me.”

Tyrrell made a dash for the hole. He felt two pairs of strong hands hauling him out.
He was too lightheaded to focus on his rescuers'‘faces. One had red hair. Another
had a tattoo.

They carried him to emergency medical workers.

Tyrrell had been working in the Super Sofa Store repair shop when the store and its
adjoining warehouse caught fire sometime after 6 p.m. Monday. Alone in the
workshop, Tyrrell did not know the building was on fire until a whiff of smoke
wafted through the room. He saw sandpaper and paper towels flutter from the fire’s
pressure building in the warehouse.

That’s when he opened the workshop doors to find the only escape route — the
warehouse — engulfed by flames.

Tyrrell said he closed the door and then started thinking about his death.

“I had all kinds of thoughts. I wouldn’t see my little girl or my wife or my family. I
was thinking, ‘This is it.’”

Just as he was ready to give up, thoughts of his 5-year-old daughter, Alexis, and his
wife, Toni, gave him a burst of energy.

That’s when Tyrrell started yelling, banging his hammer and trying to pull an air
conditioner unit off the wall. Throughout the ordeal, he continually dialed 911,
hoping he would get a signal.

On Wednesday, he called his survival a miracle.

He estimates he was inside the burning building for up to 30 minutes. Not a single
hair was singed and he suffered no lung damage from smoke inhalation.

SUBHED HERE

Tyrrell works full-time at his family’s business, Quality Upholstery, on Johns Island;
he worked at the sofa store part-time in the evenings to earn extra money for
medical bills. He suffers from joint pains that require constant medication.

The family upholstery business is inside a grey cinderblock building, tucked
between his and his parents’ homes. The family is close, and faithful to God and
their church.

Jonathan Tyrrell Jr. said the family will be forever thankful to fireman and other
rescue workers who saved his son. He was at a Monday night prayer service when
the fire started and learned afterwards that his son had been trapped.

“I thank God for the firemen and the 911 dispatcher,” his father said. “We’ve got
true heroes in this city. They brought back my boy.”

The whole family stopped by firehouses Tuesday and Wednesday to thank those
who risked everything to save Tyrrell. However, Tyrrell has not met the two
firemen who pulled him from the burning building. He wants to give them time to
mourn their fallen firefighters but hopes to soon thank them in person.

Two days after the fire, Tyrrell said he struggles to wrap his mind around the
tragedy.

“It makes me feel special in way because there are complete strangers who risked
their lives for me.

“But, in a way, I’m not that special for nine firefighters to have died.”

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307. The Charlotte Observer contributed.

© 2007 TheState.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.
thestate.com/

Thousands attend service to honor 9 firefighters killed in blaze
By BRUCE SMITH - Associated Press Writer

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. --Nine caskets lined the front of a coliseum Friday as
thousands of firefighters from across the nation, their hats in their hands as
bagpipes played, honored nine colleagues who died battling a furniture store blaze.

Monday night's fire created the single largest loss of firefighters' lives since the
Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The faces of its victims looked out from large
photos set beside each casket: Capt. William
"Billy" Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike Benke, 49; Capt.
Louis Mulkey, 34; Mark Kelsey, 40; Bradford
"Brad" Baity, 37; Michael French, 27; James "Earl"
Drayton, 56; Brandon Thompson, 27; and Melvin
Champaign, 46.

A procession of fire trucks wound through the streets in their honor Friday, and
outside the North Charleston Coliseum, more than 250 firefighters formed a human
passageway for the men's family members, each wearing a red carnation, to enter
the service with uniformed escorts.

"When we lose one, it affects us all," said Lt. James Diego, who drove from the
Newport News, Va., Fire Department with several colleagues. "Most of us have
suffered some sort of loss in our careers, and it's a way to pay back the people who
supported us when we had a line of duty death."

Black bunting hung over the lighted signs around the 9,000-seat arena, and officials
planned to broadcast the service to screens outside and inside an adjacent
performing arts center and nearby convention center.

Nearby, a retired Marine stood with an American flag.

"I joined the Marine Corps when a couple of these kids were just being born. If that
don't make you cry, you're not a human being," said Robert Turner, 47. "These
guys do the same thing that we did in the Marine Corps. It's all duty. It's all honor.
It's all for your country or for somebody else. You don't join the service to get rich.
You don't become a firefighter to get rich."

Among those expected for the service were former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - both presidential candidates - as well
as Barbara Richardson, wife of Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who
is also running.

But South Carolina Firefighters Association President Joe Palmer said dignitaries
would be seated at the back, well away from firefighters' families.

"This event is about the firemen who were lost - honoring them and their families. It
is not a political event and shouldn't be politicized in any way," said Jeff Zack, a
spokesman for the International Association of Firefighters. He said firefighters
were coming from as far as Arizona and Alberta, Canada.

The investigation into the warehouse fire was still under way Friday.

Officials on Thursday released tapes of several 911 calls about the fire. While
federal investigators have not confirmed where the blaze, some of the 10
recordings bolster the assertion several city fire officials have made that it likely
started at the back of the store in a covered space between the showroom and a
warehouse crammed with furniture.

A store employee told The Associated Press that workers frequently smoked
cigarettes in that area and were strongly cautioned to carefully throw them away.

Federal investigators have not discussed possible causes for the fire, and have not
revealed if they are considering whether a cigarette could have started the blaze.

"We have made fantastic progress in this investigation, however, it still has to be a
very systematic, deliberate investigation," said Earl Woodham, a spokesman for
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In a gesture of solidarity, medics from the Framingham, Mass., Fire Department
hung their department T-shirt at a makeshift memorial outside the charred store.

Before the service, a long procession of about 100 fire trucks wound through
streets lined with mourners, passing firehouses and the gutted furniture store on
its way to the memorial service. The first of the nine funerals was planned for later
Friday.

Associated Press Writer Pete Iacobelli contributed to this report.

Louis Mulkey was 34 years old. He was a
Captain with 11.5 years service

Brandon Thompson was 27 years old. He
was a Fire Fighter with 4 years service.

William "Billy" Hutchinson was 48 years
old. He was a Captain with 30 years
service.

Mark Kelsey was 40 years old. He was an
Engineer with 12.5 years service.

James "Earl" Drayton was 56 years old.
He was a Fire Fighter with 32 years
service.

Michael French was 27 years old. He was
an Asst. Engineer with 1.5 years service.

Melvin Champaign was 46 years old. He
was a Fire Fighter with 2 years service.

Mike Benke was 49 years old. He was a
Captain with 20 years service.

Bradford "Brad" Baity was 37 years old,
an Engineer with 9 years service.

Greater love hath no
man than this, that a
man lay down his
life for his friends

To donate to firefighters' families
Originally published 09:42 p.m.,
June 19, 2007
Updated 01:58 p.m., June 21, 2007

Here are some opportunities to
give:

Bank of America: Anyone wanting
to donate money to the
firefighters' families can make a
donation at any branch or send
money to: The City of Charleston
Firemen's Fund, P.O. Box 304,
Charleston, SC 29402.

First Federal: The Charleston
Firefighters Memorial Fund was
opened Monday at First Federal in
response to the tragic loss of nine
Charleston firefighters the
preceding evening. The bank
opened the account with $5,000 in
a show of support for the families
of the firefighters and the heroic
firefighters community. The public
is invited to join First Federal by
making a donation in any First
Federal office. The funds will be
used to assist the families of
those whose lives were lost
fighting the fire at the Sofa Super
Store on Savannah Highway in
Charleston. Checks may also be
mailed to: First Federal, c/o Linda
Weber, 2440 Mall Dr., North
Charleston, S.C. 29406.

Trident United Way: The agency
will match the first $10,000
contributed to the City of
Charleston Firemen's Fund to
encourage support for the families
and co-workers of the nine
firefighters killed in Monday's
tragedy.

Piggly Wiggly: The 'Charleston
Fallen Firefighter' Fund has been
created raise money in support of
the families of the firefighters who
died. Customers can make a
donation to the fund at the
register during checkout. Piggly
Wiggly will be kicking off the fund
with a $10,000 donation.

Southcoast Community Bank: The
bank has announced the creation
of the Southcoast Firefighter's
Relief Fund to support the families
of the victims from the fire.
Southcoast will initially fund the
account with $1,000. Additional
donations in the form of cash and
checks will be accepted at all ten
Southcoast Community Bank
branches in the Charleston area.
For additional information, please
contact Southcoast Community
Bank at (843) 884-0504 or
www.southcoastbank.com.>