Montgomery Building fire causes little damage

March 12--A fire in the duct work of the Montgomery Building in downtown Spartanburg Saturday night caused minimal damage, fire officials said.

Spartanburg City Fire Marshal Brad Hall said the fire was likely caused by an ember from where a crew was working in the basement. The workers were using equipment to remove a 6-foot fan from the duct work in the basement at about 7 p.m., he said.

The ember mostly likely ignited, sending smoke and flames up the duct work toward the third floor. Hall said the workers were gone when the fire started and nobody else was in the building at the time.

Hall said firefighters from Spartanburg, Croft, Drayton and Hilltop fire departments responded to the scene at about 8 p.m.

The fire caused some smoke damage to the Carolina Theater inside the building, according to Mike Bedenbaugh, executive director of the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, which is overseeing efforts to restore the theater.

Bedenbaugh said he visited the theater Sunday morning to check on damage.

"The smoke hurt some of the plaster, but not the decorative plaster," he said.

Bedenbaugh attributed the minimal damage to the quick response of the fire departments.

The trust's efforts to find an investor to restore the theater won't be affected by the fire, he said.

"The project dodged a bullet," he said. "None of our plans have changed."

The theater project is separate from a $25 million historic renovation that is now underway. The renovation will create 72 upscale apartments, more than 9,000 square feet of office space and more than 9,500 square feet of restaurant and retail space.

Sterling Draper, a representative for BF Spartanburg, which is developing the building, said Sunday the fire didn't cause any severe damage and no delays are expected. The project is scheduled to be finished in August 2018.

"We are grateful to the four fire departments," Draper said.

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