By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer
from YAHOO! NEWS

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Nine caskets lined the front of a coliseum Friday as thousands of firefighters from across the nation, their hats in their hands, honored nine colleagues killed in a furniture store blaze.

Uniformed escorts walked the men’s wives, siblings and children to their seats in a long procession of red carnations, tears and hugs.

The fire Monday night created the single largest loss of firefighters’ lives since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Beside the caskets, the faces of its victims looked out proudly from large photos: Capt. William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike Benke, 49; Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34; Mark Kelsey, 40; Bradford “Brad” Baity, 37; Michael French, 27; James “Earl” Drayton, 56; Brandon Thompson, 27; and Melvin Champaign, 46.

Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said the men were heroes.

“It was their calling, it was their training, it was their duty and, unflinchingly, without hesitation, with extreme courage, they did it,” he said. “They are public servants of the highest order. They want to serve. They want to help. They want to save. And They want to protect.”

Gov. Mark Sanford said questions may always linger about a higher purpose behind the deaths, but that the men proved their courage Monday night.

“Who we are crucially depends on what we’re willing to stand up for in life. In short, are we willing to walk the walk?” he said. “They walked their walk right into the company of angels and to heaven’s gate.”

Before the service, a procession of about 100 fire trucks wound through streets lined with mourners in the firefighters’ honor, passing the charred warehouse and several of the city’s firehouses.

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