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Firefighters in South Carolina’s capital city are battling a conflagration at the site of the demolished Richland Mall complex in Forest Acres, S.C. – a neighboring municipality located approximately three miles east-northeast of downtown Coulmbia.
The blaze – which was called in at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (July 10, 2024) – has temporarily shut down traffic in both directions on Forest Drive and Beltline Boulevard, two key thoroughfares in the downtown Columbia, S.C. metropolitan area.
According to the Forest Acres, S.C. police department, its officers were assisting units of Columbia, S.C. fire department as they seek to get the fire under control.
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RIGHT NOW: @ColaFire 2nd Shift crews have jumped on an afternoon fire that broke out on the site of demolition work at the old Richland Fashion Mall. pic.twitter.com/zC1drnBlpM
— Columbia-Richland Fire Department (@ColaFire) July 10, 2024
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“Firefighters are working in extreme heat to put the flames out,” the police update noted. “At this time, no injuries are reported and the cause is under investigation. This remains an active scene.”
According to a statement from the Columbia fire department, the blaze “broke out on the site of demolition work at the old Richland Fashion Mall.”
The mall – which opened in 1961 and underwent multiple reinventions and name changes over the years – closed its doors for good on January 1, 2024 when its final remaining tenant, Barnes & Noble, vacated the premises. Prior to that, the mall’s rooftop theater closed in February 2022 and its erstwhile anchor tenant – Belk – closed its doors in September 2023.
The vast majority of tenants at the mall moved out years earlier, with the facility being mostly empty for much of the past decade. Demolition of the mall began on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Unconfirmed reports from the scene indicate a demolition crew using a blow torch inadvertently ignited some insulation. The crew thought the fire had been extinguished but were obviously mistaken in that assumption.
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“Firefighters responded to the scene off of Forest Drive shortly after 3:30 p.m. to find heavy fire coming from a debris pile on one corner of the building,” the department posted on X.
“All hands working at this time,” the department added in an update posted at 4:13 p.m. EDT. “We’ll have more updates as they become available.”
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. EDT, the department reported that “conditions at the demo site of the old Richland Fashion Mall have improved.”
“Bulk of the fire has been knocked down,” the update continued. “No injuries reported thus far.”
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UPDATE |
Per the department, the fire has been extinguished …
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UPDATE: Fire on Forest Drive has been extinguished. Thankfully no injuries reported.
— Columbia-Richland Fire Department (@ColaFire) July 10, 2024
Workers on the demolition site were reportedly cutting metal in the old mall when the fire got started.
Once again — fire has been extinguished. No injuries. pic.twitter.com/W1nRiMpjSq
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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