'Charleston 9' Honored at New Memorial Site

June 19, 2011
On Saturday, family, friends and colleagues paid tribute to the nine Charleston firefighters who perished in the Sofa Super Store fire f

On Saturday, family, friends and colleagues paid tribute to the nine Charleston firefighters who perished in the Sofa Super Store fire four years ago.

As part of this year's memorial, a brand new memorial site was unveiled on the land where the tragic fire took place on June 18, 2007, according to WCSC-TV.

Diane French lost her 27-year-old son Michael in the fire and told the news station thatthe new memorial has made the trip back to the site a lot easier.

"I feel a lot different now," she said. "Back in the beginning when I looked out here (all I) saw was rubble ... and mud."

The memorial remembers the fallen firefighters through plaques at the area their bodies were found along with a flagpole in the middle of the large lot.

"We can see it in their eyes and hear it in their stories," Firefighter James Regan said. "Each year we'll be out here and nothing will ever change that."

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