Molten slag caused fire at old Charlotte Douglas control tower

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Fire Department responded to a structure fire at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport Thursday morning.

Heavy smoke was observed coming from the old control tower shortly after 8 a.m.

Firefighters said four construction workers were initially trapped by the smoke.

While the fire did make it to two alarms, it was controlled within 10 minutes, according to firefighters.

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All four construction workers were then able to self-evacuate and did not suffer any injuries.

Airport officials told Channel 9 that the tower was out of commission and not in use at the time of the fire.

“It is to be noted that this is the old FAA control tower for the airport and that normal air traffic control operations were not impeded during this operation,” said Charlotte Fire Batallion Chief John Lipcsak.

One witness said he saw flames coming from the bottom of the structure that eventually made their way up.

The Charlotte Fire Department determined that the fire was accidental due to demolition work being performed on the control tower.

An investigation revealed that the fire started in an elevator shaft located inside the control tower.

Molten slag from hot work dropped down the elevator shaft onto piled foam insulation and caused the fire.

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