West Ashley Sofa Super Store ablaze, roof collapses, smoke visible for miles

The Sofa Super Store in West Ashley was destroyed by fire Monday night while hundreds of onlookers watched.

The store and warehouse at 8107 Savannah Highway caught fire shortly after 6:30 p.m. A large plume of smoke could be seen from as far away as Ladson.

The roof collapsed and sent a roaring ball of burning debris rolling over the top of about two-dozen rescue workers.

Hundreds of onlookers were pelted with hot ash.

Mark Hilton of Ridgeville said he could feel the sting as a piece of ash went in an eye. He was mesmerized by the site of the large furniture store and its adjacent warehouse ablaze.

"It was like a 30-foot tornado of flames," he said.

Sylvester Washington, who works at the store, had just left about 6:30 p.m. His parents had come inside to look at furniture. They then drove to a nearby neighborhood to look at a house. When they drove back by the store about 15 minutes later and saw the fire, Washington searched the crowd for his fellow co-workers.

A frantic Toni Tyrrell arrived about 7:30 p.m. to look for her husband, Jonathan, who was working at the store Monday. She was concerned because he was not answering his cell phone.

Charleston County EMS supervisor Brad Morgan said at least one firefighter suffered from heat and smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital. His condition was not serious, Morgan said. An employee of the store was treated in an ambulance and released. There was no word as of 10 p.m. whether there were other injuries.

Washington's father, Chase Sandred, watched as two firefighters leaped through ground-floor windows to escape to safety.

"I guess it was just too much for them," he said.

Daniel Shahid, a salesman at nearby Morris Nissan, said he was working when a firefighter came inside and asked for towels.

"The next thing you know, we were carrying hoses, directing traffic, everybody from the dealership," he said.

He said he watched as firefighters brought four people out of the building.

"They were struggling. They were covered in black soot. They looked scared out of their minds."

Dozens of firefighters, agencies around the region, worked late into the night to control the fire. Savannah Highway was blocked by all the equipment.

An American flag flew in the wind at the end of a ladder truck as streams of water shot from the truck's bucket.

"That thing is burning like crazy," said West Ashley resident James Diebert.