Morgan Hughes
The State
(TNS)
A fire broke out at the site of the former Richland Mall at the corner of Forest Drive and Beltline Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Columbia-Richland County fire department. By 5:15, the fire had been extinguished, the department reported. There were no injuries associated with the fire.
“Workers on the demolition site were reportedly cutting metal in the old mall when the fire got started,” according to the fire department.
The department said the fire came from a debris pile on one corner of the site. The Richland Mall is in the process of being demolished for a new development.
By 4:30 p.m., the department reported that the conditions at the site had improved and that “the bulk of the fire has been knocked down.”
The fire department earlier shared a video of a large plume of smoke and visible flames coming from the second floor of the partially-demolished mall.
The fire led police to close both lanes of traffic on Forest Drive, according to the Forest Acres Police Department. That road has now been reopened.
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