3:13 p.m. update
Cummins has requested its employees who have children at its day care center at 650 Pleasant Grove to pick up their children as soon as possible.
The request was made because of the heavy smoke and fire at Carpet Mania at 10th and Michigan streets.
Parents were advised to use caution as their is heavy traffic and road closings near the Carpet Mania site. For more information: Campus Security Operations Center, 812-377-1111.
3:04 p.m. update
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. has decided to keep students at school who would normally be transported home to the area of 10th and Michigan streets as Columbus firefighters continue to battle the Carpet Mania fire there.
Superintendent Jim Roberts said some students who attend Schmitt, Lincoln and CSA Fodrea may be held at school while firefighters continue their work at the scene. Call 812-376-4246 for information.
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2:23 p.m. update
Columbus firefighters have notified Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. that afternoon bus routes will be affected by the Carpet Mania fire and street closings in the 10th Street area.
For information on where students will be dropped off, parents are advised to call the BCSC transportation department at 812-376-4246.
1:46 p.m. update
Clinton Mann, owner of Carpet Mania, is at the scene of the fire. He and six employees were at the building when the fire was discovered at 12:20 p.m.
Carpet Mania has been in business for 22 years, moving to the 10th Street location in 1999, he said. The brick building is a 20,000-square-foot building, with an older section at Maple and 10th streets. Mann and the employees evacuated without injury before firefighters arrived. He said he was in shock as he watched firefighters at the scene.
The other business destroyed was CrossFit Retaliation, just off Michigan just east of the carpet store. There were about 10 people in the building in a class when the fire started and they evacuated without injury.
Columbus firefighters removed oxygen tanks from Home Health Depot, a business near Carpet Mania, to prevent them from exploding. Firefighters were working to prevent that building from being damaged.
Between 30 to 50 firefighters, some off-duty who came in, are at the scene, according to the fire department. Firefighters are battling the fire in 30-degree temperatures and the Salvation Army has been called in to assist. No injuries have been reported.
1:41 p.m. update
The heavy smoke from a fire at Carpet Mania on 10th Street is so dense it is showing up on weather radar. The blue and purple area on the map shows the smoke.
1:18 p.m. update
Bartholomew County Emergency Management has sent an alert through its Everbridge system asking residents to avoid the area at 10th and Michigan streets to help firefighters at the scene of the Carpet Mania fire.
Emergency management officials said Cottage Avenue to 13th Street to Michigan Avenue to 10th Street should be avoided due to the fire. Firefighters are reporting heavy smoke and low visibility in the area.
12:55 p.m. update
Columbus firefighters are reporting the roof of Carpet Mania has collapsed on the east side of the building. Firefighters have been warned to watch for collapse hazards on the west side of the building.
Columbus Engines 4, 5 and 6 have been called to the scene by the fire department and are staged at 10th and Michigan streets. Columbus Township and Harrison Township firefighters have been alerted to cover any other fires called in within the city limits.
Firefighters were also reporting that a nearby apartment complex is starting to be affected by radiant heat from the fire. Firefighters are investigating whether a propane tank is involved in this fire.
From earlier today —
Columbus firefighters and police have been sent to Carpet Mania, 1428 10th St., on a report that the building is on fire and evacuations are underway.
Police were attempting to shut down 10th Street. The fire was reported at 12:20 p.m. to 911.
For more on this story, check back here or pick up a Thursday Republic.
