Apartment fire in south Columbia started on second floor deck

The Columbia Fire Department has determined that the fire started on the second floor deck of unit 824 at Country Club Apartments on Saturday afternoon.

Total damage was estimated at $650,000.

All eight apartments in the building have been evacuated.

The call came in around 4 p.m. Saturday when neighbors and witnesses showed up to the scene and began evacuating one another. One woman pulled up to the fire after seeing the smoke from a far distance. She told ABC 17 News she started honking her horn and yelling from her car window to warn those living in the buildings.

Minutes later, several units arrived on the scene to fight the fire that engulfed one apartment on the second story of the building. After only six minutes of battling the blaze, firefighters called for back-up, sending a total of 14 units to assist.

Crews noticed the fire started to branch onto the attic of the adjacent apartment. Then, firefighters began evacuating people living in the neighboring buildings.

After about 30 minutes, fire crews brought the blaze under control with the majority of the damage contained to the apartment where the fire started. No word on any damage estimates.

Crews stayed on the scene to investigate the cause, but as of Saturday night, officials did not have a conclusive answer.

Follow this story as it develops on ABC 17 News and abc17news.com.