Accidents happen, but few have such disastrous results as the recent fire in Montrose, Texas, that brought down a multi-million dollar luxury apartment building under construction. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but a report suggests that two workers welding on the roof may have sparked the blaze.
Project foreman Curtis Reissig, went to the roof, hoping to douse the fire with a fire extinguisher, but gusty winds blew the fire out of control, and it spread quickly across the bituthane-covered roof in a matter of minutes. Reissig barely escaped onto a balcony, and might not have made it but for the bold rescue of a firefighter who pulled Reissig onto a ladder seconds before a section of the building collapsed. A worker in a nearby office captured the rescue on video with her cellphone.
Fortunately, no one was injured even though more than 100 construction workers were on the building site. But several nearby houses were damaged by smoke and heat that was so intense it blew out windows in homes across the street.
