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    • What caused the fire at Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark in Columbus?
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    What caused the fire at Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark in Columbus?

    Online Niel Posted on

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    A fire was reported late Sunday night on the land of former indoor water park and hotel caused a portion of a two-story hotel to collapse and took hours for Columbus firefighters to bring under control.

    Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at 11:46 p.m. Sunday at the former Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark located in the 4500 block of Hilton Corporate Drive in Columbus. Fire crews remained at the scene Monday afternoon.

    Fort Rapids has three main structures: the indoor portion of the water park, a hotel tower, and a two-story hotel building connected to the main hotel. The fire was reportedly still smoldering Monday morning in the two-story hotel building, the westernmost building on the site closest to Hamilton Road.

    Columbus Division Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said the department received a call about a suspicious odor late Sunday night. By 8 a.m., crews had the fire under control but remained on scene to deal with any hot spots.

    Geitter said no one was inside the water park when firefighters arrived and the gates were chained shut. He added that there were conflicting reports about whether the vacant building’s electricity remained on.

    Geitter said the fire damaged the two-story building and part of the building collapsed.

    Investigators began Monday morning to determine the cause of the fire, although Geitter said it would be difficult to determine the cause due to the size of the fire. He said it was “strange” that a vacant structure would catch fire.

    The fire broke out as investors continue to fight for control from the 16.5 acre property.

    Columbus police received a report Oct. 3 of possible break-ins on resort property. Police went to the water park and encountered two men who said they worked at the property, according to body camera footage of the incident.

    Police made no arrests at the time.

    That day, a reporter noticed three flags flying from flagpoles at the resort, including a yellow Gadsden flag with a snake that read Don’t Tread on Me” and a flag with an assault rifle that read “Come and Take It”. “

    Those flags were not visible on the property Monday.

    Who owns Fort Rapids Resort in Columbus?

    “This is a whole new change,” said Maxwell Drever, chairman emeritus of Drever Capital Management, the California firm that has the contract to buy the 16½-acre property. “We have no idea what we have here now.”

    Drever said Monday that his firm won’t know the extent of the damage until it tours the site, which he said he hopes to do Wednesday.

    The Fort Rapids opened in 2006 as part of the renovations of the Holiday Inn East hotel. The only indoor water park in the city, Fort Rapids soon struggled. Less than two years after opening, owners sought a buyer for the property.

    In February 2013, the park was closed by order of the city of Columbus, which cited a history of problems including fire code violations, insect infestations and improper food handling. The property was auctioned and purchased by Juzi Cui in 2017, two years before Cui died.

    Park never reopenedand the property continued to fall into disrepair. The city declared it a nuisance in 2021, and the next year, the court fined the owners $1,000 a day until the code violations have been remedied.

    Franklin County District Court has issued an arrest warrant for the then owner of the park at the beginning of this year.

    While some investors are eyeing the property, it remains owned by California-based Juzi Cui (also known as “Jizi Cui”).

    Reporter Shahid Meighan contributed to this story.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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