 "Photo: Aaron Hark")
 "Photo: Aaron Hark")
A fire that is thought to have started around a heating and air conditioning unit in the attic destroyed Rockaway Athletic Club early Tuesday. The restaurant and bar on Rosewood Drive had been a fixture of Columbia night life since 1982.
The fire was reported at 4:35 a.m., when a Rockaway employee noticed smoke coming from the vents and called 911. The first units to respond found heavy smoke coming from the roof.
The rescue crew pointed a thermal imaging camera toward the ceiling and "saw nothing but fire," said Battalion Chief Frank Cruz of the Columbia Fire Department.
Additional units were called for as the fire was upgraded to two-alarm and then three-alarm status. Each alarm brings two fire engines, a ladder truck, a rescue company and a battalion chief.
"Three alarms can devastate the city if you think about it," Cruz said. "In order to back up the stations, we had companies out of North Main and I-20 backing up headquarters. We were being exhausted pretty quick."
About 40 firefighters tried to extinguish the fire in the early morning hours. They cut holes in the vents and realized the fire had spread throughout the roof. By 5:30 a.m., they had called for a third alarm.
At 6:56 a.m., the fire was brought under control, but not before it had destroyed Rockaway, a nearby thrift shop and two vacant buildings. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.
"We know that the building itself was worth a million dollars," Cruz said. "So you start looking at contents, and you could easily get up to about a million and a half."
The businesses to the left of Rockaway, including the Gamecock Country Gift Shoppe, received minimal smoke and water damage but "were pretty much intact."
Cruz said the building materials contributed to the fire's severity. He said the wood used in the construction of the beams is commonly known as "fatlighter."
"It's the old pine that was used in the construction of the beams when they built the building, so it burns real quick," he said. "I use it all the time; it's kindling."
About eight trucks responded to the fire, a combination of ladders, engines and rescue units. At 8 a.m., however, an apartment fire was reported on Jackson Boulevard, and Rescue One was released to assist with that fire.
"It was really drawing us pretty close ... we were running out of companies, as far as in the city," Cruz said. "It was a very busy morning."
Nothing was left of the popular restaurant, which over the years has been home to sorority mixers, fraternity socials and weekend parties.
"I think it is a big deal," said Hydrick Harden, a fourth-year finance student and SG treasurer. "I passed somebody today on their cell phone in Five Points who was just finding out about it, and he was shocked. I think it is going to impact a lot of people, especially with all of the changes going on. With Frank McGuire Arena closing ... all of the traditions that had previously defined college life at Carolina are disappearing."
Graham Mitchell, a bartender at Rockaway, was scrounging through the debris late Tuesday afternoon. He was surrounded by a sea of black ash littered with colorful specks of everything from green Tupperware covers to broken beer bottles.
Pointing to a beer bottle lying among the rubble, Mitchell said, "Can you believe it, man? There's still beer over there."
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