Father of 4 dies in massive Charlotte fire, 90 firefighters rescued 15 workers
By Web staff
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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (WRAL) — A father of four died Thursday after a fire tore through an apartment building under construction in Charlotte.
Demonte Sherrill, a construction worker, was only 30. His father, Terry Campbell, rushed to the scene after Sherrill’s mother told him there was a fire.
“Went to the scene and all the smoke. I mean, I couldn’t watch,” Campbell said. “I’m still in shock …really numb about the whole situation.”
His parents hoped that Sherrill would survive, but Campbell said Sherill’s employer delivered the heartbreaking news.
Sherrill’s mother said she watched the last horrible moments of her son’s life on Facebook Live, with him pleading for help and praying that he would find a safe space.
Sherrill’s parents said he was a good man and father to four children, ages 13, 12, 10 and 5. They say he took that job to provide for them.
“He got that job and he was doing real good at it,” Campbell said. “So I was very, very proud of him for that.”
The Charlotte Fire Department said the fire began around 9 a.m. at a parking garage construction area near Liberty Row Drive, in the SouthPark Mall area of south Charlotte.. The flames spread to a two-building apartment complex under construction.
Sherrill was one of the two construction workers who were unaccounted for immediately after the fire.
WCNC Charlotte crews could see large smoke clouds and flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. Crews saw aggressive flames destroying the wooden structure, causing beams to collapse.
WCNC reports 90 firefighters worked to rescue 15 construction workers from the flames. One person had to be rescued after becoming trapped atop a crane.
Firefighters spent nearly an hour trying to help someone trapped on a construction crane. WRAL News has been told that person is safe.
Officials called the fire “very fast-moving” with high-heat conditions of well over 2,000 degrees.
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