West Columbia, SC – 03/09/2021 (Paul Kirby) – A fire at the Riverbanks Retreat apartments off Comanche Trail in West Columbia damaged 9 separate units Sunday evening. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they had heavy flames and smoke showing from Building G.
As they pulled in, the crews were confronted by the fire coming from one of the apartments in the building that reportedly had 12 separate units. The smoke and fire were spreading and firefighters went on the attack to stop it from consuming the whole building.
The fire was eventually stopped but damaged 9 of the 12 apartments in various ways. Two were directly affected by the fire and the remainder had smoke and water damages as a result of the blaze.
Firefighters from surrounding jurisdictions assisted the West Columbia firefighters in fighting this fire. There were also officers there from the West Columbia Police Department and a standby crew from Lexington County EMS to assist with safety.
The number of people displaced has not been released. West Columbia’s fire marshal’s office is looking into the cause of the fire.
