Fire went through roof in blaze that damaged apartment complex, SC officials say

An early morning fire Thursday in South Carolina damaged half of an apartment complex and left nearly a dozen people without their homes, according to the Columbia Fire Department.

It was just before 1:30 a.m., that firefighters responded to the burning building at Village Creek condominiums, the fire department said on social media. That’s on Kay Street, near the intersection with St. Andrews Road, in a part of Columbia between I-26 and Broad River Road.

The emergency responders saw heavy fire coming through the roof of a two-floor condo building and out of the windows on its front side, according to the fire department. Portions of the roof were completely burned away, the fire department said.

Officers called for a 2nd alarm, sending more crews , as more than 40 firefighters helped to cut off, contain and extinguish the blaze, according to the fire department. Members of the Irmo Fire District helped put out the fire.

No injuries were reported as all the building’s occupants safely escaped, the fire department said.

The building has a total of eight condos, and four were damaged by fire, smoke and water, according to the fire department. Eleven people have been displaced in the wake of the damage caused by the fire.

Firefighters were successful in saving the other half of the building, which is still inhabitable, the fire department said.

Information about the origin and cause of the fire was not available, but it will be investigated by the Richland County Fire Marshal’s Office. Officials did not say if foul play was suspected.

This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 7:48 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription