CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two months have passed since a deadly fire ripped through a construction site in South Park where two people died.
Some Charlotte firefighters questioned if things could have turned out differently and called for an external investigation to try to help.
In the weeks following the five-alarm fire, North Carolina Department of Labor officials found two fire code violations.
WCNC Charlotte also learned that the builder did not have a pre-fire plan in place, resulting in the fire marshal not performing an inspection before May 18, 2023.
Although an internal investigation is underway, as is standard procedure, Tom Brewer, president of the Charlotte Firefighters Association, told WCNC Charlotte that the group believes an independent, third-party investigation should also be done.
"Not to assign blame to anybody, but to learn from it," Brewer said. "Not just so Charlotte can learn from it, but the fire service and the builders, as a whole, that we can learn from this and help prevent it from happening in the future."
Almost 100 firefighters responded to the scene and were able to rescue 15 workers from the burning building.
However, two people did not make it out alive.
Mark Neveau, a FEMA federal coordinating officer for the Department of Homeland Security, explained the difficulty of reviewing the success of complex incidents, like the South Park fire, if crews are closely tied to it.
The former battalion chief said he typically recommends agencies from outside of the jurisdiction involved in the incident, to offer an objective review.
"If we do it internally and we say, 'Hey, this has gone very well, there may be suspect among citizens,'" Neveau said. "Having a third-party outside, as long as they're capable and competent, brings credibility to the investigation in the final report."