S.C. owner wishes sofa store had sprinklers

The owner of a Charleston, S.C., furniture store where nine firefighters died June 18 said he wished he had put sprinklers in the building.

But Herb Goldstein said they were expensive and not required when he built the massive Sofa Super Store showroom and warehouse in 1992, according to The Post and Courier.

Goldstein said he doesn’t know what caused the fire, but he thinks it was an accident. The wreckage of the store has been kept on site on the recommendation of his insurance company, but will likely be moved soon, he said.

“No one said this is a dangerous product and you need sprinklers,” Goldstein told the Charleston newspaper.

Authorities have said sprinklers would have at least delayed the spread of the deadly fire.

The families of the late firefighters are set to receive $700,000 each in donations and workers’ compensation payments. Relatives could also receive a federal death benefit that could put compensation over $1 million.

The city has made $1.2 million in workers’ compensation payments. In addition, the city plans to increase the number of fire department workers and hired a group of fire experts to study fire department operations.

Local and state police agencies, as well as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are investigating the fire.