{"id":2429,"date":"2026-06-30T16:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2429"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:08:18","slug":"decker-fires-were-set-on-purpose-at-prominent-developers-vacant-columbia-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2429","title":{"rendered":"Decker fires were set on purpose at prominent developers\u2019 vacant Columbia sites"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><p>Back-to-back fires earlier this month at long-empty Decker Boulevard buildings tied to a prominent Columbia developer were set on purpose, the Richland County Fire Marshal\u2019s Office has found. The Richland County Sheriff\u2019s Department is now investigating.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2428\">Warning system involving five nuclear plants failed, including one in SC<\/a><\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Fires were deliberately set June 9 at the former Olive Garden at 2551 Decker Blvd., and June 10 at the former Red Lobster at 2601 Decker Blvd., buildings immediately next to each other whose ownership is directly tied to prominent local developer Alan Kahn and his associates.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Richland County officials confirmed to The State that the Fire Marshal\u2019s Office determined both fires were \u201cincendiary.\u201d That means arson, the Sheriff\u2019s Department confirmed.<\/p><!--]--><!--[--><p>The investigation remained open and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning, Richland County Sheriff\u2019s Department Sergeant Bryce Hughes confirmed to The State.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><div> <div><noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vacant Decker Blvd. buildings see three fires in a week (Locator map)\" class=\"wp-image-1623\" height=\"989\" src=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9104877277d87708981720a535293c9e-1024x989.png\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9104877277d87708981720a535293c9e-1024x989.png 1024w, https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9104877277d87708981720a535293c9e-300x290.png 300w, https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9104877277d87708981720a535293c9e-768x742.png 768w, https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9104877277d87708981720a535293c9e.png 1220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div><\/div><!--]--><!--[--><p>The restaurant buildings have been empty since the mid-2000s and are visibly dilapidated, with chipping paint, overgrown landscaping and dingy roofs and windows. At the Red Lobster, the doors and windows have been boarded over.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>It\u2019s not yet clear what plans, if any, Kahn or his associates have for the Decker Boulevard properties, nor why the properties have been left empty for so long. The State attempted to reach Kahn on Tuesday but did not receive a response before publication.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><h2>Three fire calls in four days<\/h2><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>The Columbia-Richland Fire Department responded to three fire calls in four days at the two side-by-side properties earlier this month. Around 9:30 p.m. June 9, fire crews found flames spreading through the inside of the former Olive Garden restaurant.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2427\">Warning system involving five nuclear plants failed, including one in SC<\/a><\/p><!--]--><!--[--><p>The next night, fire crews returned to the location around 8:30 p.m. for another blaze immediately next door at the vacant former Red Lobster, finding flames bursting through the windows, according to the fire department.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Then, two nights later, crews were called back out to the former Red Lobster to put out a third fire, which the department said it believes was a rekindled blaze from the Wednesday fire. The fires were contained and no injuries were reported.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Decker Boulevard exists on a roughly two-mile stretch between Two Notch Road and Interstate 77. It is Richland County\u2019s \u201cInternational Corridor,\u201d known for its cultural diversity and wide variety of international shops and restaurants. But vacant properties have been a persistent problem.<\/p><!--]--><!--[--><p>Khan is a prominent developer with leadership ties to M.B. Kahn and Kahn Development Company, two entities that have been involved in major local projects, including developing the Village at Sandhill in northeast Richland County.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Companies associated with Kahn or his family members have owned the Decker Boulevard properties for decades, records show.<\/p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><p>Kahn\u2019s company also owns a now-vacant former Chick-fil-A restaurant directly across Decker Boulevard from the old Red Lobster. That building has been empty since the chain restaurant relocated to Two Notch Road in 2022. The property has since been littered with trash and tagged with graffiti.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2425\">At what age is it OK to leave your child at home in SC? What state law says<\/a><\/p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Fire Marshal found deliberate blazes at the former Olive Garden and Red Lobster on Decker Boulevard in Columbia; no arrests yet as the sheriff investigates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Decker fires were set on purpose at prominent developers\u2019 vacant Columbia sites - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Decker fires were set on purpose at prominent developers\u2019 vacant Columbia sites - 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