6-year-old dies, his 9-year-old sister critically injured in Columbia apartment fire

A 6-year-old child died after a second-floor apartment off Garners Ferry Road was consumed by fire Wednesday night, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.

Nathan Archie and his 9-year-old sister were alone in the apartment, Rutherford said. The sister is in critical condition.

The fire happened at Whispering Pines Apartments, at 400 Greenlawn Drive, between Garners Ferry Road and Interstate 77, according to the fire department.

At about 6:45 p.m., firefighters responded to a burning building at the complex, the fire department said. The fire started in the vicinity of an ornamental waterfall set up on a stand behind a couch in the living room. It soon spread to overtake the entire apartment.

“I’m not going to pinpoint that it’s the culprit,” said Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins, but he added that his department did know the fire “was electrical.”

The first responders at the scene found heavy fire and smoke coming from one of the buildings, according to the fire department.

First responders attempted to resuscitate Archie at the scene. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Ashley Gurganious, the deputy coroner in charge of child fatalities at the Richland County Coroner’s Office.

While Archie’s parents have been notified, no information is being provided about their whereabouts at the time of the fire, Rutherford said.

“We’ve completed the autopsy but there are still some things we have to look for in more detail,” Rutherford said.

In addition to toxicology and tests for carbon dioxide, Rutherford said her office was performing tests “to see if there was any soot found in the lung or in the airway to see if (Archie) was actually breathing when the fire overtook the structure.”

The Richland 1 school district said Archie was a kindergarten student at Caughman Road Elementary School, and his sister is in fourth-grade at the school.

“We extend our condolences to Nathan’s family, and we ask everyone to join us in keeping them and the students and staff at Caughman Road in your thoughts and prayers,” Richland 1 Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a statement. “We are also praying for Nathan’s sister, a fourth-grade student at Caughman Road, who remains hospitalized.”

The Columbia Police Department is investigating Archie’s death.

Jenkins said firefighters had the blaze contained within 40 minutes, and after 9 p.m. it was reported the blaze had been extinguished.

There are eight units to the apartment building and all were damaged, the fire department said. A dozen people were displaced by the fire, according to the fire department. Much of the damage was to the exterior of the other apartments, Jenkins said.

One individual was rescued from a balcony but was not transported to the hospital, according to fire department spokesman Mike DeSumma.