{"id":2161,"date":"2026-06-26T17:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:37:46","slug":"columbia-fire-chief-sues-firefighters-group-for-defamation-after-2023-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161","title":{"rendered":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins has sued a firefighters\u2019 group for defamation, alleging the group publicly blamed him for contributing to the 2023 death of Irmo firefighter James Muller.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2159\">\u2018I was telling your story.\u2019 Emotive film moves new Americans, judges and celebs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Muller died in May 2023 while fighting a large blaze at the Tropical Ridge apartments in the St. Andrews area where the Irmo Fire Department was assisting Columbia\u2019s fire department. He died after being buried under a collapsed structure. Six other firefighters were injured in the collapse but survived.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The official investigation into the Tropical Ridge Apartments fire found it to be an accident started by unattended cooking materials.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After Muller\u2019s death<u>,<\/u> the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina led by Roger Odachowski issued <u>a statement<\/u> raising questions about the investigation into the fire and <u>promising to reveal<\/u> \u201cthe details and the failures of Chief Jenkins and his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Now, Jenkins has filed a lawsuit against the firefighters\u2019 group and Odachowski, alleging those 2023 statements were false and misleading, and that they caused him embarrassment and severe distress requiring professional counseling.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2157\">\u2018It is indescribable.\u2019 South Carolina\u2019s newest US citizens reflect on journey<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He is suing Odachowski for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the firefighters\u2019 group for failing to prevent Odachowski from publishing \u201cfalse and misleading\u201d statements.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Jenkins is asking a court for a jury trial and to award damages.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The firefighters\u2019 group in a statement Thursday acknowledged the lawsuit but said it doesn\u2019t believe the claims have merit.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunate that, following a line-of-duty death, firefighters who should be focused on honoring our fallen brother and continuing the healing process are instead being drawn into litigation,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cAsking difficult questions and fighting to improve community and firefighter safety are fundamental responsibilities of our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The statement adds that the group won\u2019t \u201clitigate this matter in the media.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In a separate lawsuit, Muller\u2019s wife has sued the city and Richland County<u> for wrongful death, alleging<\/u> he was instructed to enter the burning building and that his death was caused by inadequate training and miscommunication during the fire. The city has denied the claims and the lawsuit remains ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2155\">Richland Sheriff arrests man in connection with early-morning murder in northeast<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins sues a firefighters\u2019 group and leader over 2023 statements blaming his leadership after an Irmo firefighter died.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins sues a firefighters\u2019 group and leader over 2023 statements blaming his leadership after an Irmo firefighter died.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"headline\":\"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161\"},\"wordCount\":396,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161\",\"name\":\"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=2161#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Moving Experts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts","og_description":"Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins sues a firefighters\u2019 group and leader over 2023 statements blaming his leadership after an Irmo firefighter died.","og_url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161","og_site_name":"US Moving Experts","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"headline":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death","datePublished":"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161"},"wordCount":396,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg","articleSection":["Local"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161","name":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death - US Moving Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-26T17:37:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0605cb06975c3e4f02ac4ba7c3028090.jpeg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2161#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Columbia fire chief sues firefighters\u2019 group for defamation after 2023 death"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/","name":"US Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}