"Never Forget" Camaro Unveiled for Charleston 9 Families

This afternoon, in a reception for the Charleston 9 families, we unveiled the "Never Forget" Camaro, a drag racing car built to commemorate the Charleston 9. We were honored to have the crews from Engines 15, 16, 19 and Ladder 5 join the families for the viewing of this very special project.

The Charleston Firefighter Support Team, in cooperation with MisFire Racing of Summerville, South Carolina, humbly displayed this car in memory of the Charleston 9, who gave their lives in the line of duty on June 18, 2007, in what will now be forever known as the Sofa Super Store Fire.  It is hoped that this project will serve to raise public awareness of the dangers of firefighting and to the sacrifices made by our firefighters in the performance of their duties.

This car is a 1990 Chevrolet Camaro, originally built by Gateway Race Cars in Fenton, Missouri in 1990. It was campaigned on the National Hot Rod Association’s National Circuit as a Pro Stock car for several years before finding its’ way to south Florida where it was raced on the local circuits there.  It was powered by a 700 cubic inch engine in those days with a best quarter mile speed of 206 miles per hour. In November, 2006, it was acquired by MisFire Racing and brought to South Carolina. 

In April, 2007, it was heavily damaged in a crash at Lowcountry Dragstrip in Berkeley County, South Carolina.  It required nearly two years and much effort to restore it to a race ready condition.  The car is currently powered by a Doug Livingston 468 cubic inch big block Chevrolet engine and runs the eighth mile in about 5.50 seconds.

Many thanks to Chet Couch and crew, at Hipster Race Car Fabrication in Summerville, South Carolina, for their time and expertise in the body and paint work seen here and to Patricia and Jack Carolan, of Signs ASAP, in Summerville for their contribution of the reproduction prints of the "Chariots of Fire" mural given to each family in attendance today.   Also our sincere appreciation goes to Stacy Lundy of Stacy’s Designs, of North Charleston, South Carolina for the hand-painted flames and other graphics, to include the mural and the twenty-three carat gold leaf C9 emblem, that add a very special touch to this lasting tribute and to Suzette Dunlap and Nikki Cockcroft, of the CFD Wives' Club, for providing the refreshments for today's reception.