Three men have been arrested in connection with a massive fire that burned for three days at a Cayce recycling plant.
According to officials with the Cayce Department of Public Safety, Israel Rizo of Cayce, Charles Goode of Lexington and Doug Jen of West Columbia have been arrested and charged with unlawful burning.
The fire started on June 29 and burned through July 1 at World Wide Recycling, located at 2350 Foreman Street. Smoke could be seen for miles in every direction.
Investigators said the three men were determined to be the responsible parties for the business and location during the resulting investigation initiated by the fire.
Rizo was arrested on July 3. Charles Goode and Doug Jen were arrested on Friday at the Cayce Department of Public Safety. Police said Rizo was the acting manager of the business while Goode and Jen are co-owners of businesses located at the same location on Foreman Street.
The charges are based on allegations that none of the arrestees followed city ordinances or guidelines to properly burn materials in the City of Cayce, investigators said.
Police said the fire investigation is ongoing and any further release of information "may jeopardize future endeavors."
About 30 fire departments and emergency agencies from throughout South Carolina responded to the blaze.
Concerned about air quality, DHEC officials even issued warnings for people who lived nearby. Although DHEC said air monitoring determined that there was no threat to public health, smoke from the fire could have irritated people's eyes and respiratory systems.
At least one firefighter was transported to a local hospital due to heat exposure. He was expected to be okay.
No other injuries were reported.
Officials have not released an estimate of how much damage was caused.
All three suspects have been released on bond.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
(Source: Harper Shull)
