Sofa Super Store Responds to Study

By National Institute of Standards and Technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Richard Rosen

843-577-6726

rsrosen@rrhlawfirm.com

Charleston, SC- October 28, 2010 – The National Institute of Standards and Technology has reviewed the structural failure of the Sofa Super Store building that occurred as a result of a fire in June of 2007. NIST’s primary focus is in understanding the technical causes leading to structural failures and then making that information public. NIST engineers and researchers strive to prevent similar failures in the future. Investigations conducted by NIST have led to significant changes in practices, standards and codes to enhance the health and safety of the American public. Sofa Super Store attorney Richard Rosen today issued the following statement.

“The Sofa Super Store building was last inspected by the City of Charleston in April of 2006 (see attached inspection report) just a little more than a year before the fire. The fact that this building contained a large quantity of furniture and was not equipped with sprinklers was noted by the City. It was found to be in compliance with applicable codes. The report as well as hand drawn sketches by fire inspectors did not reveal any violations or recommendations by fire inspectors.

As the NIST report states, it “did not focus on compliance or non-compliance with specific state or local regulations in effect at the time of the fire, nor did it seek to find fault. Rather, the study does make recommendations to public policy leaders to adopt model building and fire codes, the implementation of aggressive fire inspection and enforcement programs by professionally qualified inspectors to a national standard, and codes that require automatic sprinkler systems for all new commercial retail furniture stores.

The information provided by NIST is certainly helpful for governmental agencies, fire departments, and businesses going forward.

All fires have an origin. All fires develop and spread in a manner that can be effected by numerous factors. It is critical that appropriate firefighting tactics are employed to effectively fight any fire, taking into account the risks to life and property based on the particular conditions at the scene. Fortunately, the Charleston Fire Department is now taking steps to ensure that it is able to respond effectively to fires of this magnitude.”

-xxx-

Editor’s note: Attached is 2006 Sofa Super Store Inspection Report.