COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – On Monday, Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins filed a lawsuit against the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina and its president, Roger Odachowski, who he says is blaming him for the death of a firefighter in 2023.
Jenkins’ lawsuit claims the defendants published a press release on June 19, 2023, and related social media posts accusing him of “years of neglect and deficiencies” tied to a fire that killed Irmo firefighter James Muller, and questioning his honesty and competence.
In May 2023, the Columbia-Richland Fire Department (CRFD) responded to a three-alarm fire at the Tropical Ridge Apartments in Columbia.
A mayday was called, requiring the nearly 60 firefighters on scene to vacate the building, according to CRFD. The building collapsed, and Muller was stuck inside.
Muller’s death followed the collapse of a multi-story apartment of lightweight construction.
According to a report, the fourth-floor loft bedroom fell through the third floor and continued into the second floor, which trapped Muller’s crew. Two of the firefighters escaped and worked to free two others. A third firefighter from the crew was pulled from the debris pile on the second floor.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants stated that a fatal fire “exposes years of a chief’s neglect and deficiencies.” Defendants further represented that Jenkins’s leadership had resulted in “severe staffing issues, nonfunctioning apparatus, delayed response times, NFPA safety violations,” and that he “continues to put residents, businesses, and firefighters at extreme risk.”
The lawsuit claims the defendants additionally published statements asserting that Jenkins had made false or misleading statements concerning the cause of the fire and the involvement of outside investigative agencies.
