RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A large fire broke out Monday night at the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown.
Smoke was visible for miles as the two-alarm fire burned on the roof of the 500,000-square-foot building in the 500 block of S. Salisbury Street.
A viewer video shows the Raleigh Convention Center on fire Monday night.
The call came in just before 9:30 p.m., a City of Raleigh spokesperson said. About 50 firefighters responded.
“I see smoke engulfing like the entire building, like coming from the top of it,” said one man who was riding a scooter when he saw the blaze.
“They had about two of those cranes up there; they were trying to spray out some sort of fire.”
The fire has been put out, City of Raleigh spokesperson Julia Milstead said. There was no interior damage noted, though white smoke still rose from the roof past 11 p.m.
“It was limited to the roof,” Milstead added.
A fire burns in downtown Raleigh on Monday night as seen by the ABC11 Raleigh Sky Cam.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Preliminary information suggests that it appeared to be a “natural gas incident” connected to the HVAC system. The gas was eventually shut off.
Milstead said there was a mechanical platform on the roof, and fire investigators were focusing on that area to pinpoint the cause of the fire.
Streets around the convention center were blocked off. Traffic was being redirected, and people were advised to avoid the area. Fire crews were going to rotate throughout the night to make sure the fire did not rekindle.
There were no events at the convention center at the time, Milstead said, but there were about a dozen security guards and staffers in the building. They were able to get out safely.
No injuries have been reported. “That’s the best news,” Milstead said.
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