Massive Fire Engulfs Charlotte, NC, Building, Parking Garage: One Dead, One Missing

May 19, 2023

A construction worker was killed and another was missing Friday morning after a massive fire broke out in an upscale business and residential area of Charlotte, North Carolina.

News outlets reported that the five-alarm fire began early Thursday in or near a construction trailer and quickly engulfed a parking garage, which partially collapsed. Two people were trapped in the garage as huge flames spread around them in the SouthPark Mall neighborhood, the Charlotte Observer reported.

More than 90 firefighters worked to rescue some 15 other workers, but Demonte Sherrill, 30, a father of four, was found dead, WRAL news reported. Another worker was rescued after he was trapped atop a construction crane at the site.

Construction crews had been installing foam insulation, and a machine used to pump the foam may have caught fire and started the blaze, WSOC TV and the Associated Press said.

Topics North Carolina

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