It was one of the darkest days in Charlotte’s history when a 5-alarm fire engulfed a SouthPark apartment complex under construction, trapping two workers inside. Ruben Holmes and Demonte Sherill lost their lives; the fire almost took more.
“We almost lost eight to 10 firefighters that day when they called for ‘Mayday’ when they got trapped,” said North Carolina State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor. “Luckily, they were able to get out due to their equipment and their training.”
Now, because of that destructive and deadly fire, changes are on the way.
“What are we going to do?” Taylor said. “How can we make these buildings safer during construction? Because, we had the Raleigh fire and then, of course, we had the Charlotte fire.”