CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A year after one of the worst fires in Charlotte history trapped and then killed two construction workers, the Charlotte Fire Department has yet to finish its "deep dive" of the day's events.
WCNC Charlotte has spent months routinely checking in with the department about the status of its SouthPark fire internal review. In the days after the May 18, 2023 fire, public records reveal Chief Reginald Johnson noted Charlotte Fire would not do a "normal" critique. Emails show the department created a committee last summer, suggesting everyone could "benefit from closely examining the events of that day and learning from it."
In an interview earlier this week, Deputy Chief Jerry Winkles told WCNC Charlotte the review is nearing completion as the department waits on a final report. He also said the department is awaiting the results of a separate, external Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency review focused on dispatch and communication that day. He said the federal agency is completing its review at no charge to the city.
Firefighters previously called for an independent, third-party investigation.
"We're constantly looking for ways to get better," Deputy Chief Winkles told WCNC Charlotte. "I'm sure there will be things that we did really, really well and things that we can improve on."
Saturday marks one year since the five-alarm apartment fire in South Park claimed the lives of Demonte Sherrill and Reuben Holmes. Their families recently filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the companies involved with the construction project, alleging negligence for failing to meet minimum safety standards.
Fire investigators said the fire started accidentally after heat from operating equipment resulted in an insulation foam spray trailer on the ground floor igniting.
The department previously acknowledged fire marshals never inspected the construction site, blaming the builder and contractor for a communication failure. An inspection would have likely identified the lack of a required pre-fire safety plan and water source within the building.
WCNC Charlotte requested an in-person interview with Charlotte Fire in April. After the department denied WCNC Charlotte's request, a news crew showed up to department headquarters where the deputy chief eventually agreed to talk.
"Is there anywhere where you all feel like something fell through the cracks from the fire department's perspective?" WCNC Charlotte asked the deputy chief.
"No, not from the fire department's perspective," he replied. "That's one of the things that we've looked at, continually, how can we get better? How can we meet construction managers, so that we can get ahead of the game earlier and we're doing that."
"Not even the no inspection. You don't feel like that fell through the cracks," WCNC Charlotte pushed back.
"So, again, everything we're doing right now as we look back on that is to just see how we can get better and how we could have touched base, not only in that incident, but in every incident moving forward," Chief Winkles replied.
While the two reviews could lead to other improvements, Chief Winkles shared some of the changes the department has already made to better protect the public and firefighters. He said the fire department has taken steps to improve its inspection process, budgeting for 12 new positions that will help the fire marshal's office catch up on a backlog that started during the pandemic. That backlog overwhelmed the department as businesses temporarily closed and contractors continued to build.
Charlotte Fire has also restructured the division to create a new construction team. The team is charged with better communicating the fire safety requirements specific to each site before work begins.
"We're also just trying to get out to the construction sites earlier," Chief Winkles said. "We're involved with some of the pre-submittal meetings now and that gives us the ability to offer input early on."
According to the department, CFD has also urged contractors to have at least two certified construction superintendents on site, plus requested more exits than currently required by state code and has provided "consistent guidelines" for the construction industry.
The changes build on new fire codes the North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal recently adopted.
State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor said in a historic move the agency updated the construction portion of its codes well ahead of schedule in direct response to the South Park fire. Normally, the state modernizes all of its codes every six years.
"We're a reactive society and we basically react after the fact," Taylor said. "It's just sad that we lost two lives out of that fire. We do so much work in fire prevention and community risk reduction, but to really affect change, especially in codes, it takes loss of life."
Taylor noted, several firefighters that needed rescue that day could have also died, along with more construction workers. Due to the materials used in construction and pace in which contractors are building, Taylor said it's critical the state takes action.
"If the codes were in place, there would have been a better chance that these men would have survived," Taylor said. "I hope that we'll never have any more injuries or deaths with these fires."
The National Fire Protection Association created the newest standards in 2022, as construction fires across the country increased. An NFPA report that year identified 4,300 construction site fires a year, which is roughly 12 a day.
"We're trying to learn lessons from all of this and implement the best practices so that it doesn't happen again," NFPA Principal Fire Protection Engineer Robin Zevotek said. "Fire losses are tragic. Unfortunately, we're seeing large loss fires like this, some with fatalities, more often than we would like throughout the country. One of the ways that we can honor those folks is to ensure the chance of that happening in the future is lessened."
The deaths of Demonte Sherill and Reuben Holmes serve as yet another somber reminder. Through their attorneys, the families of the two construction workers declined an interview so close to the anniversary.
At the site of their deaths on Liberty Row Drive, crews have started rebuilding the apartments the fire destroyed. The new site has noticeable safety improvements.
Earlier this year, the North Carolina Department of Labor reached a settlement with two contractors, Baker Insulation and MCRT Carolinas, in connection to the fire deaths. A third contractor, Diversified Insulation, LLC, didn't contest citations levied in connection with the fire. All three were fined for health and safety violations following an investigation.
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.