Five firefighters who died while serving honored during special ceremony

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Five firefighters who died while serving their communities were honored during a special ceremony Wednesday morning at the SC Fallen Firefighters Memorial located outside of the SC Fire Academy.

Held by the SC Fire Service, the ceremony remembered the lives of Irmo Firefighter James Muller, Summerville Fire and Rescue Captain Kenneth Sott, and Aiken Public Safety Officer Kevin Simmons.

Two other firefighters who had not previously been recognized were also honored.

Calhoun Falls Firefighter Stanford Wilson passed away in 1964 and Greenville City’s Richard Multrie died in 1881 — now joining the names found on the Academy’s Memorial Wall.

“In this case it’s the first time I’ve ever had to put one of my own on the wall, so it’s an entirely different experience today than it has been in the last 20 years,” says Irmo Fire Chief Mike Sonefeld.

Sonefeld became emotional discussing Muller’s passing during the ceremony.

“I just miss him. Plain and simple. So many good things you can say about him, that he’s done, the list is endless. I find them on notepads I find them on your computer. So when you speak of him, you just miss him… horribly,” he says.

The plaza also includes a statue of Lesslie Fire Chief Jerry Williams and his grandson Stevie, who at the time of it’s unveiling in 1999 was nine years old.

“I’m going to try not to get emotional with you but it’s a lot of hours I spent with my Grandad here, and it means a lot to me as well, just to come here and for them to dedicate this thing to him, it’s pretty special,” Williams says.

The wall now holds the names of over 100 firefighters who have lost their lives while serving their communities.