What caused the fire at Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park in Columbus?

Late in the evening on Sunday, a fire was reported on the territory of the street former indoor water park and hotel caused part of the two-story hotel to collapse, and it took Columbus firefighters hours to bring it under control.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at 11:46 p.m. Sunday at the former Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park, 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: an indoor part of the water park, a hotel tower and a two-story hotel building connected to the main hotel. The fire appeared to still be smoldering Monday morning in the two-story hotel building, the westernmost building on the lot closest to Hamilton Road.

Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Gaiter 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 the scene to extinguish any hot spots.

Gaiter 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 power was live in the vacant building.

Gaiter reported that the fire damaged the two-story building, part of the building collapsed.

Investigators began Monday morning to determine the cause of the fire, though Gaither said determining the cause will be difficult due to the extent of the fire. He said it was “strange” when the vacant building caught fire.

A fire broke out as investors continue to fight for control land plot with an area of 16.5 hectares.

Columbus police received a report on October 3 about possible trespassers at the resort. Police arrived at the water park and met two men who said they worked on the property, according to body camera footage of the incident.

The police did not detain anyone at that time.

That day, a reporter noted that three flags flew over the resort’s poles, 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 Get It.” “

On Monday, these flags were not visible on the territory of the institution.

Who owns the Fort Rapids Resort in Columbus?

“It’s going to be a game-changer,” said Maxwell Drever, chairman emeritus of Drever Capital Management, the California firm that signed 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 visits the facility, which he said they hope to do Wednesday.

Fort Rapids opened in 2006 as part of the renovation of the Holiday Inn East. The only indoor water park in the city of Fort Rapids soon ran into trouble. Less than two years after opening, the owners was looking for a buyer for real estate.

In February 2013, the park was closed by order of the city of Columbus, which cited problems with the story, including fire code violations, bug infestations and food mishandling. The property was put up for auction and purchased by Yuzi Tsui in 2017, two years before Tsui’s death.

Park never opened againand property continued to be destroyed. In 2021, the city found it objectionable, and the following year – the court fined owners $1,000 per day to eliminate violations of the code.

The Franklin County Environmental Court issued an arrest warrant the then owner of the park earlier this year.

While some investors are eyeing the property, it remains the California estate of Juzi Cui (aka “Jizzy Cui”).

Dispatch reporter Shahid Meighan contributed to this story.

This story has been updated with additional information.