Columbia Fire is on the scene this morning in the Bull Street District, responding to calls of a fire at the historic Babcock Building. Columbia Fire crews say the historic Babcock Building in downtown Columbia is essentially destroyed after a massive fire broke out at the iconic building Saturday morning.
Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins says he received the call around 6:45 this morning reporting smoke in the area. There are multiple crews on the scene.
Columbia Fire officials said the call came in around 6:30 Saturday morning for the structure, located on Bull Street. When crews arrived they found flames coming out of the basement. It was considered a three alarm fire, and over 60 firefighters and law enforcement responded.
There is no known cause of the fire at this time.
Columbia Fire Chief Jenkins says there is “significant fire damage” to the building. The Spire on the top of the Babcock Building has been completely destroyed.
Officials say two firefighters have received minor injures from falling debris.
This isn’t the first major fire at the Babcock Building. Crews battled a different fire at the building in 2018.
The Babcock building used to be a part of the state hospital and was built in the mid-1800s. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
Video taken at the time of the fire showed heavy flames coming from the building. One of those recordings those recordings showed the large iconic dome and cupola on the top of the building collapse, falling down into the building.
According to Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins, two firefighters have suffered injuries while battling the blaze. One received care on scene and the other was transported with non life-threatening injuries. They were both injured by embers as the building collapsed.
Jenkins said his crews have not been able to go in because the building is mostly wood inside, and much of the structure has come down. Jenkins said they may have to knock down some walls to complete douse the fire.
It is not clear at this time how the fire started.
The Babcock Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been a part of the city's downtown since 1857. At its peak, it once housed nearly 400 mental patients. All of the patients were removed in 1990, and it later closed for good in 1996.
