This video is from inside training drills the department has run for years. "I'm a f*** up." The inscription, too offensive to read on the air, but for years, this bear has been passed from one Charleston firefighter to another. "You messed up, you would have to wear it until the next guy messed up, then take off and hand it to him," said Charleston firefighter Bill Haigler. Haigler, a firefighter with the city for almost five years, not surprised by the content we showed him, but not happy either, though his concerns stretch far past a stuffed animal. "This is their intro into the CFD and if you see someone doing something wrong and you keep on doing it wrong, you're not breaking the cycle of getting around to doing it right," said Haigler.

Here, new recruits are learning how to fight a diesel fire. "First of all they should have air packs on because it's very toxic. They are in the middle...they should be on this side where the hydrant is," said retired Capt. Richard Koger. He blames department leadership. So does Roger Yow, President of Charleston's firefighters union. "What you see in their face is now in their lungs. You're supposed to approach it on the safest side and he clearly put them on the dangerous side of the fire," said Yow. The "he" Yow mentions is Training Chief Ricky Shriver who will be replaced by Chief James Ghi from Fairfax, Virginia. Shriver will now lead a battalion.

These men believe had the Charleston nine been led differently prior to June 18th, they might have been saved. They say the department needs to pay more attention to National Fire Protection Association standards. These are created by firefighters, based upon past experience. Former firefighter Matt Thompson says this clearly shows NFPA standards are not followed. Here a group of firefighters listen to Chief Shriver about how smoke builds, while they sat next to a couch on fire, inside an enclosed structure. Shriver tells the men to go on air only if they choose. "The NFPA standards talk about the types of fuels you can use in an enclosed structure and it's untreated straw and wood palates. I brought it up before and I was told Charleston doesn't need to follow NFPA so they don't," said Thompson.

While these videos were recorded 4 years ago, the firemen fear without an overhaul of the department's leadership, new policies may not help. The City disagrees. We showed city representatives the video and asked for a response. The department's safety officer Chief Bryan Kleskie sent us this statement. "I have been told of a video, a portion of which the city was allowed to see, showing safety concerns during recruit training at the tower sometime around 2004. This video does not reflect how the City of Charleston Fire Department will handle recruit training and departmental training in the future," said Kleskie.