Wife of Fallen SC Firefighter files on the right death

Irmo, SC (WIS) – The wife of a fallen Irmo firefighter says that negligence had led to the death of her husband in a new complaint.

Records show that Emma Müller submitted a complaint against the city of Columbia and Richland County in connection with the death of her husband, the fireman James Müller, in 2023.

James Muller died in the service after a fire in the tropics Ridge Apartments in May 2023. He was called into the fire information as a member of the IRMO Fire District for mutual help.

Emma Müller's complaint claims that the fire brigade of Columbia-Richland did not ensure that devices, including fire hydrants, were in a reasonable state, did not carry out an appropriate risk assessment, could not maintain any adequate training before the incident and could not maintain any reasonable communication channels during the incident. “

In the lawsuit, a recently published report by the South Carolina Office of Occupational Safety and Health is also cited in which the city and the district found several violations.

It also claims that James Müller was sent to the building, although “there was no immediate threat to life” and that all residents of the apartment complex were evacuated at the time when he arrived.

The suit also quotes “a story of the structural collapse in similar buildings on the property”, and the firefighters saw the structural integrity of the building impaired.

According to the complaint, the fire brigade of Columbia-Richland decks and master flows used to collect the roof together while James Müller was still inside.

The lawsuit states that James Müller's Mayday call was abused and led to “a delayed and incoherent rescue reaction”. It also means that he remained aware of it, but was caught at least 45 minutes before it was freed.

James Müller was then taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His deaths were later ruled as “mechanical suffocation”.

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