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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Emergency crews didn't have enough hoses or adequate water pressure to properly fight a blaze that killed nine Charleston firefighters in a giant furniture store almost a year ago, according to a federal report released late Thursday.

Firefighters struggled to find a hydrant for a fire engine, passing cars ran over hoses, and large-diameter hoses were not used until 20 minutes after the Sofa Super Store showroom was engulfed in flames, the draft report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said.

The agency is still compiling its final report on the June 18 blaze. The draft released by the city didn't include recommendations on how things could have been done differently - those are expected in the final version, which is not expected for several more months.

The report also does not discuss the cause of the fire, which officials also have not reported. Employees at the store have said workers took smoke breaks near a loading dock that connected the showroom and warehouse, and the federal report does say that 28-gallon cans of "extremely flammable solvents" were found inside the loading dock.

The draft also sheds additional light on the confusion that enveloped firefighters as what was initially reported as a small trash fire turned into an inferno that killed more firefighters than any emergency since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

According to an account of the five minutes of chaos during which the showroom seemed to fill with smoke, firefighters following hoses in and out of the building ran into each other, hoses burst and it took several minutes to get water from a tanker that had a pump some firefighters described as "touchy."

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said the city and the firefighters' union will respond to the draft to help with recommendations expected in the final report. A report by the city is due out next week.

Roger Yow, head of the city's firefighter union, said the department has been working on improvements such as larger supply line hoses and better air packs. He said the "backbone" of the report will be the federal agency's recommendations for changes - and said the union and its experts would respond to the draft.