Flames erupted from the Sco- Mar site Monday. The smoke could be seen high above Gaffney on Monday as the former Sco- Mar Textiles Outlet once again erupted in flames.

The more than 11,000- square-foot commercial building packed with bundles and bales of cloth and material essentially burned to the ground June 16 as a result of an arson. Amazingly, firefighters believed the June 16 fire continued to smolder for the past two weeks, resulting in Monday's major flare-up.

Firefighters from all three Gaffney fire stations responded in full force when thick black smoke started billowing like a mushroom cloud from the East Robinson Street site above the city's skyline.

The June 16 arson resulted in the arrest of a 52- year-old Gaffney man, Calvin Randolph Hopper of Magnolia Street, who allegedly admitted he set the blaze. Monday's flare-up prompted members of the Gaffney Police Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to respond to the scene, but Gaffney Fire Chief Nathan Ellis said the investigators agreed there was nothing suspicious about Monday's blaze.

"At this point we believe it's nothing more than a re-kindle," Ellis said. "The bales of cloth and material were probably still smoldering. The humidity is low and the winds are up. It has all the makings for a fire."

One bystander pinpointed the time of the Monday's flare-up to between noon and 1 p.m. He said the building had not been showing any signs of smoke when he left a nearby business for lunch around noon.

A contingent of firefighters remained on the scene for several hours to continue dousing the burned-out structure and the thick bales of cloth remaining inside. Ellis said he planned to talk with city officials and code enforcement to press for cleanup by the property owner.

"I'm afraid until we get this property cleaned up it's going to continue to happen," Ellis said.

City Administrator James Taylor had said a meeting was planned for Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't immediately known what actions the city might take.

The building's owner, Michael Ray Childers, 59, not only lost his building but was slapped with a charge of unlawful gaming after fire and police investigators discovered a "vast amount" of gambling devices called ball tabs or ball boards on June 16 inside an office on the westerly side of the property.