Massive fire breaks out at Charlotte apartment building under construction

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A large plume of black smoke filled the sky above Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday morning after an apartment building under construction there caught fire.

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Update 2:14 p.m. EDT, May 18: Firefighters rescued 15 workers from the building, including one who was stranded on a crane. Two people are unaccounted for, WSOC reported.

About 100 people were on the site before the blaze began.

One person was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses said the fire started on the second floor and a foam spraying machine caught fire before the flames spread.

The fire was considered a five-alarm fire and temperatures were higher than 2,000 degrees. There was a large amount of exposed wood so it spread quickly, WSOC reported.

Original report: The Charlotte Fire Department confirmed for WSOC that the fire was a three-alarm blaze, and asked people in the area not to call 911 unless it is an emergency.

There are no reports of injuries as of mid-Thursday morning, but there are paramedics at the scene along with police and fire crews.

A construction worker appeared to be at the top of a crane over the apartment building and first responders were attempting to rescue him.

Several roads in the South Park area of the city were closed and a nearby retirement home had its residents in the lobby of the building but had not been told to evacuate, WSOC reported.

Visit our sister station, WSOC, for the latest developments.