With a state group that supports fire personnel expressing concerns about the response to a multi-alarm Columbia apartment fire that took the life of an Irmo firefighter, the department he served has joined agencies in Columbia in asking that judgements about the incident be withheld until ongoing investigations are complete.

Earlier this week, the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina issued a release detailing “the failures of [Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey] Jenkins and his leadership” during and after a May fire at the Tropical Ridge apartments in Columbia that claimed the life of Irmo’s James Michael Muller and sent several others to the hospital with injuries.

The association accuses Jenkins of jumping the gun in announcing that the fire had been ruled an accident caused by unattended cooking materials on an apartment stove and taking credit for calling in outside agencies to the fire when their response was triggered by pre-existing aid agreements. The group also questions the attention paid to a fire hydrant at the scene, which it alleges had been out of service and was fixed days after the fire.

Muller was the first firefighter to lose his life in the line of duty in the history of the Irmo Fire District, which stretches back to 1963. He was killed in a structural collapse during the May 26 blaze, the Columbia-Richland Fire Department announced earlier this month.

Reached by the Chronicle, Irmo Fire Chief Mike Sonefeld advocated for withholding all judgment about the situation until ongoing investigations are complete. He said his department has met with Columbia Fire, Columbia Police, the state Law Enforcement Division, SC State Fire and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as their investigations into the incident continue.

“We will be patient while they gather all of the information that is needed in their investigation,” Sonefeld said. “NIOSH investigators are the subject matter experts in this type of line of duty death and their findings are valued across the fire service in this nation.

“Any opinions as to what the facts are at this point would be very premature and irresponsible. Please keep the Muller family in mind as we move forward and we will get the information as soon as the investigation is completed.”

Holding their own press conference June 22, 30 minutes before the Fire Fighters Assocation’s planned press conference, City of Columbia officials defended the character of Chief Jenkins and questioned the timing and motivations of the association’s accusations.

“We understand that a full investigation is still underway,” Columbia City Council Member Ed McDowell said. “So why clamor in rumors and misinformation?”

“I've never experienced an attack on a decorated colleague like I witnessed just a couple of days ago when I received a copy of this press release and the intentions of talking about just a tragedy that occurred in our city a few weeks ago,” Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook added. “It was authored by some people that I don’t know and I certainly know weren’t present at that fire and weren’t part of that fire investigation that occurred after the fire.”

Holbrook acknowledged that there was a co-response to the fire based on an existing agreement, praising Jenkins’ immediate moves to begin an investigation, including what Holbrook called an “unprecedented” move in bringing in the National Response Team to help with the effort.

“This was the most comprehensive response to an investigation that I’ve been a part of,” the police chief said.

At the association press conference, the group’s president, Roger Odachowski, further accused the City of Columbia of threatening to put off a June 20 vote to increase firefighter pay in response to the group’s claims and alleged a history of equipment and retention issues that the association has long been pushing to address.

He said his organization is looking for a seat at the table as Columbia addresses issues with its fire department.

“I'm asking Chief Jenkins to step down if he's not going to change and if he's not going to move forward and be progressive and fix what needs to be fixed and build recruitment and retention,” Odachowski said.