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Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park’s Future Is Up in Flames – Literally

Three days. That’s how long it took for the old Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort to go up in flames after its sale was approved to convert it into affordable workforce housing.

Columbus firefighters were called out late Sunday night after a strange smell was reported at the empty waterpark-turned-hotel, which has been sitting vacant (and creepy) since it closed in 2016. When crews arrived, they found flames shooting from the roof of the old two-story hotel section, which wasn’t exactly the welcome Drever Capital Management expected after taking over the property.

Fort Rapids
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Firefighters battled the blaze for hours, despite boarded-up doors and chained gates, which made fighting the fire even harder. The cause of the fire remains a mystery, but officials are calling it “odd” that a vacant building would just randomly catch fire days after a new development plan was announced.

Fort Rapids is no stranger to drama.

Closed since 2016 after multiple code violations and declared a public nuisance in 2021, the site’s former owner, Jeff Kern, is still on the hook for nearly $200,000 in fines from code violations. Franklin County Environmental Court even issued an arrest warrant over the summer for the Kern.

ice at fort rapids
Fort Rapids experienced a frozen cascade when millions of gallons of water poured from the building back in January 2018. Photo by Chelsea Wiley.

In 2018, water poured out of the 11th and 12th floors of the hotel section of the resort, flooding the hotel and making its way outside where it formed a waterfall down both sides of the facility. Even back then, firefighters struggled to get to the leak, due to electrical and ice hazards.

Earlier this month, police were called to the property when two men claiming to be working on-site were found under some eye-catching flags, including the “Don’t Tread on Me” banner.

As for now, Drever Capital Management still plans to transform the old waterpark, but with flames still smoldering, the future of this troubled property seems murkier than ever. Stay tuned – Fort Rapids isn’t done with its wild ride just yet.

Featured image via Columbus Division of Fire (Facebook)