HERO - In the Line of Duty

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - A HERO award goes out to the nine courageous firefighters who died while fighting a fire in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday.

CNN.com, among others reported extensively on the event and the city's reaction to the tragedy:

"They lost their lives fighting for the safety of our citizens," Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said.

"Nine brave, heroic, courageous firefighters of the city of Charleston have perished fighting a fire, and in a most courageous and fearless manner, carrying out their duties," Riley said. "This is a tragic event for our community, the magnitude of which is difficult to fathom or quantify."

The victims, their ages and their years of service are:

Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48 (30 years)

Capt. Mike Benke, 49 (29 years)

Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34 (11½ years)

Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40 (12½ years)

Engineer Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37 (9 years)

Assistant engineer Michael French, 27 (1½ years)

Firefighter James "Earl" Drayton, 56 (32 years)

Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27 (4 years)

Firefighter Melven Champaign, 46 (2 years)

The city of Charleston has a special section on their website worth reading:

http://www.charlestoncity.info/dept/content.aspx?nid=1375