Metal Work Possible Cause of Atlantic Mill Fire

After spending more than 24 hours fighting a massive fire here at the old Atlantic Cotton Mill, the Macon-Bibb Fire Department remains on the scene because the structure itself is very unstable and because of that Chief Riggins says it could be a long night for his team.

“Since yesterday about 4:15 p.m. we’ve been here on the scene. And we’ll probably be here throughout the night tonight because the structure is still unsafe, the walls unsound. The integrity has been compromised greatly. So we certainly don’t want any citizenry to hurt or entangled by what could be falling debris,” said Riggins.

Riggins says with the magnitude of the blaze, damage in the area could have been much worse. Apartment complexes rested just feet away from the sweltering heat, but swift action to contain the fire allowed those properties to be spared; a difficult task, considering the battle against time and mobility.

“The access, one way in, one way out of this complex and that certainly did not aid in the strategicness for fire fighting,” said Riggins.

Fire investigators continue to work the scene to determine when and where the blaze began. Chief was able to tell me he found out that two metal workers were cutting metal just hours before the blaze started.

“We do know that there was actually metal being cut in the building yesterday by some workers that were actually taking out the metal piping out of the structure. At the time of the fire we’re not really sure as to where they were,” said Riggins.