Nine firefighters died battling a blaze that raced through a furniture store and warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina, last night, triggering a rolling ball of smoke and flames that destroyed the roof and pelted onlookers with hot ash.
The warehouse was packed with furniture and the blaze "rolled through it like a fireball" while the firefighters tried to put it out, said Pam Blevins, secretary to the Charleston city fire chief, Russell Thomas.
"All we know is nine firefighters, all at once ..." Blevins said, choking up with emotion. "The building collapsed on them."
The tragedy was the single-worst loss of firefighters since 343 firefighters and paramedics died in New York on September 11 while searching for survivors in the World Trade Center towers before they collapsed, the US Fire Administration said.
The fire began at about 10:30pm at the Sofa Super Store around 5 miles (8 km) west of the city's historic district, the fire department said. The front of the store collapsed just over an hour later.
"It was like a 30-foot (9-metre) tornado of flames," said Mark Hilton, who was standing nearby.
Mayor Riley said two employees were in the building at the time and firefighters broke through a wall to rescue them.
Other witnesses said they saw firefighters drag four people from the building.
"They were covered in black soot," said Daniel Shahid, a salesman for a nearby car dealer. "They looked scared out of their minds."
The mayor said a full investigation would be carried out into the blaze. Arson was not suspected, he said.