WELLFORD, S.C. --
Fire officials said that it may be days before they fully extinguish the last of a fire that destroyed a large portion of the former Jackson Mill in Wellford on Sunday .
SKY 4 VIDEO: Over Jackson Mill Fire VIDEO: Fire Destroys Much Of Wellford MillMore than 100 firefighters from six departments spent their day Sunday battling a fire at a textile operation in the former Jackson Mill in Wellford. Many of them were still there on Monday morning.
The first calls about the fire came in at about 5:35 a.m. on Sunday.
The blaze collapsed a large portion of the sprawling building's roof, gutted the interior and sent a plume of thick smoke high into the air.
The plant houses a company called Farley Textiles. About 20 people work at the facility, company president Charles Southers told WYFF News 4.
Southers said that the facility was closed for the July 4 week and that he did not know what happened or how the fire might have started.
The fire was likely in an area of the building that houses machinery the company was currently using, he said.
According to the company's Web site, Farley Textile Knits primarily buys and sells textile products like yarns, knit fabrics, woven fabrics and T-shirts.
The company also has a large warehousing operation, the Web site says.
Firefighters from Startex, Duncan, North Spartanburg, Tiger River, Croft and Inman fire departments were using ladder trucks and long-range nozzles to try to douse the flames.
In the early stages of the firefighting effort, some residents living near the mill were asked to temporarily evacuate as emergency workers went door-to-door to alert residents.
Officials said that one firefighter was taken to the hospital for treatment of a wrist injury. Two firefighters had to be treated for heat exhaustion.
As of Monday morning, the fire was was under control, but firefighters said it could take days to be sure all the hot spots are extinguished.
Jackson Mill closed in 1997, costing 350 workers their jobs.
News 4 has learned that this is the third year in a row that there are been some sort of fire at the mill during the week of the Independence Day holiday.
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