Four former firefighters file suit

Four more former Charleston firefighters are suing Sofa Super Store, its owners and several furniture companies, alleging they suffered physical and emotional injuries from the 2007 blaze that killed nine of their fellow firemen.

The lawsuits, which accuse the businesses of negligence and reckless conduct, were filed in Charleston County by former captains Kevin Storo, Patrick Sandford, Thomas Buell and firefighter Jerry Winn. The suits seek unspecified damages.

The lawsuits state that all four men were near the massive furniture outlet on Savannah Highway when its roof collapsed during the June 18, 2007, blaze, sealing the fate of their friends and colleagues. The men also participated in the search and recovery of their friends' badly burned bodies, according to the lawsuits.

The firefighters allege the incident left them with "serious and painful" skin rashes on their arms and legs, along with extreme mental and emotional distress. Each came away with post traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, flashbacks and other psychological and emotional problems "collectively referred to as a 'nervous breakdown,' " the lawsuits allege.

The wives of Storo, Buell and Winn also allege that negligence by the defendants caused them to be deprived of care, comfort and assistance from their husbands.

All four men joined the Fire Department in the early to mid-1990s, and all left on disability retirements in the aftermath of the sofa store blaze, city records show.

Their complaints are similar to lawsuits filed in January by former firefighters Edward Clinton Jones, Gary Taylor, Matthew Roberts and Eric Croft. Relatives of the nine firefighters killed in the blaze also have taken legal action against the store, its owners, furniture makers and various companies that did work on the building.

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Among other things, the lawsuits allege that illegal additions to the store violated building codes and allowed the fire to spread rapidly through the building. The complaints also fault the store and its owners for allegedly installing highly flammable roofing and ceiling products and storing highly flammable furniture and other materials without adequate fire safety systems, such as sprinklers.

The lawsuits also target the manufacturers of the roofing products and allege that the furniture makers failed to warn people about the fire dangers associated with their products.

Lawyer Wilson W. Greene, who filed the latest lawsuits on June 1, did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

Sofa Super Store attorney Richard Rosen declined to comment Monday on the lawsuits.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.