With the recent release of the Phase II report on the Sofa Super Store incident in Charleston, South Carolina, the Fire Department Safety Officers Association would like to go on record with the following statement:

We have now entered a new era ... an era of personal accountability. It is no longer considered acceptable to take uncalculated risks and operate at  incidents without a dedicated and competent certified Incident Safety Officer.

We must ensure that we have a trained and certified fire department safety officer on the scene of every structure fire, heavy rescue and special operations response.

We owe nothing less to our firefighters and their families. The FDSOA offers support to current and future safety officers for their critical role in saving firefighters' lives. If we can be of assistance, please contact
FDSOA or visit our website www.fdsoa.org.

Cordially;
Charles Davis, Chairman
Fire Department Safety Officers Association