(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Over 90 firefighters responded to the scene of a massive fire at a construction site in Charlotte, North Carolina, Thursday morning and braved devastating conditions to rescue workers who were caught in the blaze.
As of Thursday afternoon, two construction workers who were at the site of the future apartment complex were unaccounted for, according to the fire department.
Firefighters responded to the residential construction site on Liberty Road around 9 a.m. and within 10 minutes, the blaze grew to five alarms, Reginald Johnson, the fire chief for the Charlotte Fire Department, told reporters.
“It was a very fast-moving fire [with] high heat conditions well over 2000 degrees. And as a construction site is open, a lot of wood is exposed the fire moved very rapidly,” Johnson said.
Firefighters rescued 15 construction workers from the fire, including one person who was stuck on top of a crane. Johnson said that firefighters had to set up hose lines to protect the crane before they could go and make the rescue.
Johnson also confirmed that two “maydays” were issued after firefighters had issues getting out of the fire while rescuing some of the construction workers.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, according to the fire department.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles tweeted a statement urging nearby residents to remain inside and thanking first responders for their work.
“Very grateful that @charlottefire was able to rescue the crane operator,” she tweeted.
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