COLUMBUS, Ohio — Crews are battling a large fire at an abandoned water park in east Columbus Monday morning.
The Columbus Division of Fire was called to Fort Rapids Indoor WaterPark Resorts at 4560 Hilton Corporate Drive sometime before midnight on a report of a strange odor. The call was then upgraded to a working fire and later a two-alarm fire.
Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said the fire happened in the tower. He added that it’s too early to determine the cause of the fire, but arson investigators have been called to the scene.
There are no reported injuries.
The former hotel and indoor water park shut down in 2016 due to health, safety and fire code violations.
When it was open, Fort Rapids had a history of violations and issues that caused many health problems among guests. From 2015 and early 2016, guests at the water park complained about getting sick with complaints ranging from asthma attacks and bronchitis to vomiting.
The current owners bought the property in 2017 after the water park was shuttered, but never reopened the business.
The city took legal action against the property owners to get them to bring it back into compliance. Owners have been incurring fines since August 2022.
This is a developing story. Stay with 10TV for more updates.