The tragedy?at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston in 2007 has been an area of solemn study for me?for almost a year.?Today I downloaded the final?272-page report and read through it, seeking to exegete?once again the strange series of events that killed nine men who were friends, fathers, sons and brothers.

As I read through the report,?I came across the photo of Melvin Champaign. I never knew Melvin, but?I began to share his heart as a fellow believer after reading his obituary and hearing his final words?recorded on this earth. The biographical statement about this great man said that he was 46 years old, an Army veteran, and an aspiring pastor. He was known for quoting Bible verses to get through situations. No doubt he was dearly loved by all who knew him personally.

I knew Melvin in a much different way. The tragedy at the Sofa Super Store caused me to consider my responsibilities as a firefighter, and particularly as a fire commander. I have carefully listened to the audio recording of the tragedy to analyze mistakes that I might make that could put people in danger. I have read every report I could find on the matter to learn from this tragedy.

But there is something that always challenges me more than?anything else – the last recorded words of Melvin?Champaign. His final words are often ignored or looked over by analysts looking for strategic or tactical mistakes made on that fateful day. However, his final words are infinitely more important than anything else heard on those tapes.

He courageously made his way into that death trap and bravely fought for his own survival and the survival of those around him until it became clear that he was running out of air?and death was knocking on his door. His final words were, “We need help in here. We need help. Do you hear that, dispatch?” Then, a few seconds later,?he says clearly and with a calm, peaceful-sounding voice?that is totally unexplainable considering the chaos, “In Jesus’ name, amen.”

When I heard this while sitting at the fire department, I jumped up, and a lump went shooting to my throat. Those words were not cries of the pagan with foxhole religion. Those words came from the?heart of one who was at peace with God because he had a relationship with Christ.

Melvin Champaign is a hero to me not so much because he?was a fellow firefighter, but because he showed me?how a?man in Christ can live and die with hope.?He has shown us all how even our final words on this earth can lead people to Christ. May we live up to that standard.

Thank you, Melvin, for showing us how to live and die by faith. I will see you in glory.

Dwight Easler is pastor of Corinth Baptist Church, Gaffney, and assistant chief of the Corinth Fire Department.