VIDEO/PHOTOS: This week, the City of Charleston and Charleston Fire Department (CFD) will honor the anniversary of the tragic Woolworth Department Store fire. The Charleston Fire Department and Local Union 317 will host a ceremony on Tuesday at 10 a.m. to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the fire that claimed the lives of seven CFD firefighters and injured 15 others. On March 4, 1949, these CFD firefighters battled flames in the Woolworth building on the corner of Quarrier and Capitol Streets. While searching for the fire, the first floor collapsed. Some were rescued, but CFD seven members ultimately died, including a few of the rescuers. The names of those lost were T. Frank Sharp, Emery C. Pauley, Frank N. Miller, Fred C. Summers, J.P. Little, George A. Coates and Richard L. McCormick. The tragedy became the biggest casualty count for a fire department in a structure fire in West Virginiaโs history. A bronze marker now hangs on the building with the names of the seven firefighters.
