South Carolina

Body found in burning building in South Carolina, fire department says

A body was found by firefighters who were battling an early morning blaze Tuesday, according to the Columbia Fire Department.

At about 7:30 a.m., crews responded to a fire at an apartment in the 1700 block of South Beltline Boulevard, fire department officials said in a news release. That’s in a part of Columbia near Shop Road and Gills Creek.

Firefighters found a fire in one room of the apartment and it was quickly extinguished, according to the release.

The Columbia Fire Department responded to a burning building.
The Columbia Fire Department responded to a burning building. Columbia Fire Department

While searching the property one person was located inside the apartment and the Richland County Coroners Office was called to the scene, the fire department said.

The coroner’s office has neither publicly identified the victim nor announced a cause of death.

There were no other injuries, according to the release.

There was no word about how long it took to extinguish the fire, or the extent of the damage to the apartment building.

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

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This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Body found in burning building in South Carolina, fire department says."

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Noah Feit
The State
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
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