Fire Station 11

Charleston Fire Chief Dan Curia on June 17, 2021, discusses the vandalism at the new and not yet open Fire Station 11 on Savannah Highway that occurred overnight, as Mayor John Tecklenburg and Police Chief Luther Reynolds look on. Police found two bullet impacts located on the building's glass doors and two more impacts were found in the upper windows. Brad Nettles/Staff

Vandals defaced the city of Charleston's Fire Station No. 11 in West Ashley on the eve of the anniversary of the deadly Sofa Super Store blaze. 

City officials said at a news conference June 17 they would not allow the crime to overshadow the June 18 anniversary of the fire, which killed nine Charleston firefighters in 2007.  

"This fire station, it's very special," Mayor John Tecklenburg said. "It's right next to the Sofa Super Store, where nine valiant firefighters gave their lives. It's, in a way, a part of our continuing tribute to them and memorial to them." 

Charleston police officers were dispatched the morning of June 17 to the yet-to-be-open station at 1835 Savannah Highway after learning of damage to the property, according to an incident report. 

A fire battalion chief told the officers the building was struck by gunfire several times. Two bullet impacts were located on the building's glass doors and two more impacts were found in the upper windows.

Officers found compacted bullets and partial bullet jackets at the scene, the report states. 

Charleston Fire Chief Daniel Curia said at the news conference the section of Savannah Highway where the shooting took place was "sacred" to the department. 

Fourteen years ago, nine firefighters were killed while fighting a blaze at the Charleston Sofa Super Store, then located at 1807 Savannah Highway. 

A small trash fire on the business's loading dock erupted into a raging inferno within the store on June 18, 2007. Responding firefighters battled the flames and evacuated the building before the roof collapsed, trapping the nine firefighters.

Their names were Brad Baity, Mike Benke, Melvin Champaign, Earl Drayton, Mike French, Billy Hutchinson, Mark Kelsey, Louis Mulkey and Brandon Thompson.

"In the fire department, we're shocked, we're hurt, we're angry," Curia said of the vandalism. 

The design of Fire Station No. 11 reflects the memory of the tragedy. Nine slender windows framed by brick decorate the eastern side of the building, which faces Charleston Nine Memorial Park. 

Curia said the vandalism would not shift the focus from the firefighters who gave their lives at the furniture store fire. 

"In the fire department, we use a phrase that is 'Never forget,' and we will live that phrase and carry that forward," he said. 

The news conference was attended by Tecklenburg, members of City Council, Police Chief Luther Reynolds, and members of the Charleston fire and police departments. 

Police Lt. Heath King said officers were dispatched the night of June 16 for reports of eight to nine shots in the area of the fire station, but it was not until morning that the building's damage was discovered.

King estimated the vandalism caused $10,000 in damages, largely because bullets shattered the building's hurricane-resistant windows. 

Officers were reviewing video surveillance from the building, King said, and also canvassed the area for further information about the crime. 

It's not the first time vandalism marred areas near the memorial park. Eman Mubarak Brown, 33, was arrested last summer and charged with vandalizing the memorial site, ripping up PVC pipe crosses from the ground and tearing American flags from their poles. She doused some of the flags in gasoline. 

Brown pleaded guilty last month to attempted arson and was sentenced to five years in prison, but her sentence was suspended in favor of mental health court, according to court records. 

King said detectives do not believe the most recent vandalism was connected to the June 26, 2020, incident, but nothing has been ruled out. 

City spokesman Jack O'Toole said Fire Station No. 11 was scheduled to open in two to three weeks, but crews will need to assess the damage to determine whether that is still a feasible timeline. 

King said anyone with information can call CPD's dispatch line at 843-743-7200 or Crimestoppers at 843-554-1111.

Reach Steve Garrison 843-607-1052. Follow him on Twitter @SteveGarrisonDT.

Steve Garrison covers breaking news and public safety. He's a native of Chicago who previously covered courts and crime in Wisconsin, New Mexico and Indiana. He studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Missouri.

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