Officials are telling people to avoid downtown Raleigh. Glass and debris are still falling from the 7 story apartment building that went up in smoke Thursday night. This was a five-alarm fire that ignited an under construction apartment building, causing damage to up to 10 buildings. The building was vacant, but surrounding it are residential buildings. Officials report that initially there were fires in 5 surrounding buildings, all of which were severely damaged. As soon as it's safe to enter the building, investigators will try to answer the question of what started the fire.
This morning, 3 buildings were cleared and damage control and rehabilitation has started. The fire department and police are still on the scene and taking extra precautions to make sure the fire will not rekindle.
Officials suggest to try to avoid the area as much as possible as crew will be cleaning the streets all weekend.
One injury was reported last night. A firefighter was injured by falling glass, but is said to be a non-life threatening