Blaze Destroys SC Mattress Factory

While employees were on the clock at the time of the fire, all ended up safely evacuated. The number of workers on site at the time of the blaze was not immediately clear. The total number of employees at the plant is around 300.

One first responder was taken to the hospital for “heat,” while another two were taken to the hospital for non-incident-related injuries, officials said at the press conference. There were no other injuries in the incident.

Investigation Continues

Officials said they remain confident on what caused the fire, but they won’t release the information until the investigation of the incident is complete.

Firefighters at one point thought they extinguished the blaze, but it reignited later on that day.

A separate investigation is ongoing as to how and why the fire reignited. Smoke was still visible one day later during the 3 p.m. Aug. 17 press conference at a grocery store parking lot about 1.3 miles away.

“Our citizens have been incredible,” said Vic Carpenter, Fairfield County administrator. “We’ve had people coming by and bringing food, bringing water, bringing fans, making cash donations to make sure that the men and women on the scene are taken care of. So everybody has stepped forward, and this is – if it were not such an unfortunate event – would be a great example of how this county works together, rallies together and makes a difference.”

A fire broke out at the MLILY USA mattress factory in Winnsboro, South Carolina, totally destroying the facility.Source: Fairfield County

Emergency responders in Fairfield County first responded to the MLILY USA mattress factory in Winnsboro on the morning of Aug. 16 to reports of a fire and chemical smell inside the factory, the Fairfield County Fire Service said in a Facebook post.

Fire Timeline

In terms of a timeline for the incident:

• Firefighters responded to the first alarm at the factory at 9:58 a.m. on Aug. 16, officials said, adding at the Aug. 17 press conference they had been on scene since that time.
• The fire had been contained to a small area before an unknown event around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 caused it to spread further throughout the entire factory, county spokesperson Gene Stephens said.
• The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety and Columbia Fire Department’s HazMat team also responded.
• Foam used in a large conveyor belt system in the factory made the fire particularly hard to fight, officials said.
• The roof of the 660,000-square-foot building caved in as a result of the fire. As of the afternoon of Aug. 17, officials said they had the fire down to hotspots that could burn into the next day.

Fairfield County reported there was a large plume of smoke rising from the facility a little before 7 a.m. Aug. 17, confirming video and pictures from multiple outlets on the scene.

First responders were still on the scene as of 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, Stephens said. The fire was “roaring” with a thick black plume rising from the factory as of 10 a.m., he said.

The fire had once again been contained to a smaller area of the factory as of 10:30 a.m., he said.

The mattress factory opened in 2019 at 1 Mlily Way just south of Winnsboro along U.S. Highway 321. The highway remained closed to traffic for about half a mile between S.C. Highway 34 and S.C. Highway 269 as of the afternoon of Aug. 17.

Air is Safe

The Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Services (DES) found no contamination in the air, officials said.

“It’s very important that our citizens understand that DES from the very beginning has been on top of this. The EPA has been involved with this as well from the very beginning,” Carpenter said. “Though much smoke is in the air, it is non-toxic and is non-threatening to our citizens.”