A massive fire in Kingston, Ont., engulfed a five-storey wood building under construction on Tuesday, prompting the dramatic helicopter rescue of a worker trapped on a construction crane.

Dozens of stunned bystanders watched the rescue of the worker, who suffered only minor burns. He became trapped on the crane when the blaze broke out at the construction site just after 2:15 p.m.

John Ashie was working at his family’s car dealership down the street when his father asked him about the black smoke that was rising above the neighbourhood.

The 22-year-old stepped onto the street just in time to see bright orange flames burst through the roof of the apartment complex under construction, which took up at least one city block.

“Thirty seconds went by and then the whole top was up in flames,” Ashie told the Canadian Press. “It seemed kind of out of control at that point, by the time the first fire truck got there.”

Jennifer Merrill, 28, lives a couple of blocks away and rushed to the scene when she heard the fire trucks. She said the flames grew quickly and filled the air with black smoke.

“You could feel the heat from the fire. It was really intense just standing on the street,” Merrill said. “The fire was just roaring.”

Not long after, those who had gathered to watch fire officials battle the blaze noticed a figure perched atop a construction crane at the burning apartment complex.

Alec Ross saw the worker clamber to the tip of the 37-metre-high crane, which had been almost entirely blackened by the flames. A Griffon helicopter deployed from nearby CFB Trenton swooped in at around 3:35 p.m. and “hovered like a wasp,” said Ross.

“It was very dramatic,” he said. “We were all hoping and praying this guy was going to make it out alive.”

A rescuer was lowered onto the platform, hooked the crane operator to his body, and both were pulled up at the same time. The operator was taken to a nearby ambulance.

Police said all the other construction workers at the site are believed to be accounted for.







The official cause of the fire has not been released. Early reports described it as a propane explosion.

The enormous blaze quickly spread to a nearby duplex home and the attic of a Howard Johnson hotel. Police said the buildings had already been evacuated and no one was harmed.

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At least 150 people were evacuated from their homes. Gladys Kong, a 20-year-old Queen’s University student, lives two houses down from the construction site and was asked to evacuate at 3:30 p.m., she said.

“When I was leaving, it smelled more like propane, and I believe that’s why we had to evacuate.” she said. “The air was filled with dark grey smoke.”

City buses shuttled evacuees to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. Police said they would advise residents when they could re-enter the evacuation zone to retrieve pets or other items.

Firefighters feared the blaze would spread to a nearby gas station and shut off the station’s pumps. Utilities were also shut down in the area to make it safe for those battling the blaze.

By about 5:10 p.m., the fire in the apartment complex was “contained,” but firefighters continued to monitor blazes in the nearby duplex and hotel.

Video courtesy CKWS-TV Kingston

The complex, at 663 Princess St., was set to become a new home for many Queen’s University students.

Ross said the building was being constructed almost entirely of wood. In fact, it was blasted as a “tinderbox” at a Kingston planning committee meeting last month.

“It’s horrible that this has happened, but thank God it didn’t happen with any students in it,” said Ross.