Two people were found dead in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday after a five alarm, authorities said.
Two construction workers were missing after a massive fire broke out Thursday at an apartment building.
The identification of the two people found in the place has not been made public, and the notification to the next of kin will be carried out by the forensic doctor.
The fire at the site, which is under construction, was accidental, Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald T. Johnson said.
“I have been with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for 31 years; I have never, ever seen a fire of this magnitude,” Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.
The Charlotte Fire Department received calls about the fire in the 7700 block of Liberty Row Drive around 9 a.m.
Firefighters arrived within minutes and found heavy smoke coming from the construction site. At 9:10 a.m., the fire became two-alarm and progressed to five alarms at 9:56 a.m., Johnson said.
The fire started in a spray-foam insulated trailer on the ground floor of the site, he said.
Fifteen workers were rescued, including a crane operator who was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Johnson said.
There were many emergency situations where fire crews were trapped or had trouble escaping the blaze, Johnson added.
The fire spread to the building across the street and to several nearby rooftops, which were put out by the fire department, Johnson said.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the fire was difficult and devastating.
“Two families lose their loved ones today,” he said, adding that the city joins them in mourning.
Johnson, the fire chief, said the cause is still being determined.
“Obviously, the building is still in a state where it’s not safe for all of our members to go in there,” he said, but the location where the fire started was narrowed down to the area of the spray isolation trailer.
juliet arcodia contributed.