The Carolina Channel
ANDERSON, S.C. -- It took over 100 firefighters 15 hours Tuesday to get a huge fire under control at the old Appleton Mill in Anderson County.
The fire is still under investigation, but Anderson Fire Department Chief Jack Abraham sad he suspects it may have been caused by New Year's Eve fireworks.
Abraham told News 4 that the old mill has been abandoned for years and that much of the wood inside is rotted.
When they were in operation, mills like Appleton routinely used oil to settle dust on the floors. Much of that oil soaked into the boards causing them to burn quickly, Abraham said.
Firefighters started battling the blaze before midnight, when they discovered the mill fire while extinguishing a fire at a nearby house.
The mill is on Whitner Street, just west of the city limits.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had already engulfed several buildings on the mill site and the flames were too hot for firefighters to attack from the inside.
One of the biggest challenges for firefighters has been the cold, as firefighters need to take regular breaks for their own safety and because some of their equipment has frozen.
Icicles were hanging from trees and power lines near the mill.
Abraham said the fire spread from building to building through doors and tunnels and also put nearby homes at risk.
Tuesday afternoon, the fire spread to an old warehouse just yards from nearby homes, which firefighters evacuated the homes, even carrying some of the elderly residents outside.
Then firefighters began spraying the houses down to keep them from igniting.
Our job is to coat the shingles and siding with water, keep them wet, make sure no sparks fly over that could start a fire somewhere else downwind,” Abraham told WYFF News 4’s Beth Brotherton.
Fire Threatens Homes Near Closed Mill
Abraham said that he expects the building to continue burning for several weeks, but that the homes appear to be safe.
One home has minor smoke damage, but the owners and their pets got out safely, he said.
Parts of the 20-acre mill complex were being used for storage. There was some cloth stored in the warehouse.
"I knew this day was coming.," former mill employee and neighbor Alta Yanadore told News 4. "The mill had been empty for so long, we have dreaded this day. "
