Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire on Shady Grove Road Tuesday morning. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)

WTOP's Nick Iannelli reports.

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WASHINGTON -- A massive fire gutted an apartment building in a dense area of Rockville Tuesday morning.

A large three-alarm fire broke out at Gables Upper Rock Apartments, located at 70 Upper Rock Circle in Rockville at about 4:15 a.m. The fire closed Shady Grove Road between I-270 and Md. 355 for several hours.

The road reopened in both directions by 10:15 a.m.

The apartment building is under construction, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Spokesman Pete Piringer. The 150-unit apartment building was nearly complete, but no one was living there yet.

Crews controlled the fire by about 6:45 a.m. and no injuries have been reported, Piringer says. Some flames and smoke were visible from nearby I-270 for most of the Tuesday morning commute.

Piringer says when firefighters arrived at the apartment building early Tuesday, they found heavy fire coming from the upper floors of the four-to-five story building. About 200 firefighters responded to the fire, Piringer says.

The fire's cause is not yet known. Investigators are on the scene.

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Crews fight building fire that closes Montgomery County road (Video)

CONSTRUCTION WORKER JUMPS FROM BURNING HOUSTON BUILDING (( SCARY ))
A construction worker is rescued from a giant fire at AIG campus in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday. The amateur footage, filmed by onlooker Karen Jones, shows a ...

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CONSTRUCTION WORKER JUMPS FROM BURNING HOUSTON BUILDING (( SCARY )) - Video

Houston fire
Apartment building under construction.

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Houston fire - Video

Phoenix the cat was found in a garage of a townhouse across the street from the $50m complex which burned to the ground Tuesday.

Phoenix the cat was found in a garage of a townhouse across the street from the $50m complex which burned to the ground Tuesday.

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

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Final rescue from Montrose apartment fire is badly burned and purring cat

S

On Tuesday, Curtis Reissig found himself trapped on the fifth-floor balcony of a burning apartment building. "The flames were getting closer and hotter," he told the Associated Press. "I knew I had to do something."

Ressig leapt to the balcony below, where firefighters rescued him just seconds before part of the building collapsed.

"In my mind I was ... going through all the scenarios. What can I do? How am I going to drop? How am I going to swing? And I wanted another swing. But I knew I didn't have time because it was so hot. I took one swing," Reissig said.

When fire broke out, Ressig was eating lunch outside the still-under-construction apartment complex. He ran to the building's roof with a fire extinguisher, but he fire quickly spread, forcing Ressig to the building's fifth floor.

"At that point I saw a lot of smoke. ... It started burning my eyes, my throat. I couldn't breathe," he said, adding that he thought he was going to die. Then he spotted a door to one of the building's balconies.

"I thought, 'Ah, fresh air.' And then I look up and I see to my right all the flames on the building were that close. It was just amazing it had gone up that fast," he said.

Karen Jones, an office worker at a neighboring building, captured Ressig's rescue on her cell phone.

"We were terrified for him," she said. "It was totally surreal ... like watching a suspense thriller on television."

Fire Capt. Brad Hawthorne, the firefighter on the ladder, said Ressig's decision to "Spiderman it down one landing" saved him from injury, or worse.

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Construction Worker Describes Escape From Burning Houston Apartment

Huge Fire At Houston Texas Apartment Building Construction Worker Stranded!
huge fire engulfs houston texas apartment complex building, building explodes, construction worker stranded.

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Huge Fire At Houston Texas Apartment Building Construction Worker Stranded! - Video

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 7:19 AM

Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 11:36 AM

A woman who recorded the daring rescue of a construction worker from a burning luxury apartment building in Houston said she wasnt sure the man would make it out alive.

Karen Jones said there was a brief moment when she thought the hardhat was going to plummet to the ground after he swung from the top-floor ledge to a balcony below as the roaring flames tore through the five-story building on Tuesday.

When we saw his foot slip, it was just like oh, God, hes going to fall, Jones, who recorded the shocking video from her fourth-floor office next door,told KTRK-TV.

We thought he was going to be gone.

But soon after the desperate worker landed on the ledge of the flaming $50 million under-construction complex, a ladder from a nearby fire truck started stretching toward the stranded man.

Standing near the edge of the ladder was Houston Fire Department Senior Capt. Brad Hawthorne, who reached out and grabbed the man after he leaped onto the top rung.

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We thought he was going to be gone: Woman who ...

HOUSTON -

Firefighters are continuing to put out hot spots Wednesday morning after a 5-alarm fire burned down a residential building under construction in the Montrose area.

Houston firefighters responded to the blaze at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 2400 block of West Dallas and Marconi. A large portion of the high-rise structure was on fire.

Flames and smoke could be seen from miles away.

Several fire units and emergency crews were on the scene, including nearly 200 emergency personnel. HFD called for a fifth alarm shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Captain Ruy Lozano told Local 2 one construction worker had to be rescued from the third floor of the structure.

There were no reported injuries, according to the fire department.

Lozano said firefighters worked to contain the blaze, before the imminent collapse because the fire suppression systems were not yet in place for the under-construction building.

Traffic in the area near downtown Houston was congested during the blaze and authorities urged motorists to stay away from the area as a safety precaution.

Police have closed the intersection of Montrose Boulevard at Dallas Street while emergency crews are still on scene Wednesday morning.

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Massive blaze destroys residential building under ...

Trapped on a balcony by smoke and flames, construction supervisor Curtis Reissig knew he had to take action to stay ahead of the blaze that was quickly consuming the Houston apartment complex he had helped build.

"The flames were getting closer and hotter. I knew I had to do something. So I swung down to the lower floor," he said.

Reissig's daring leap bought him enough time to let a fire truck ladder get close enough for him to then jump onto it. Fire Capt. Brad Hawthorne, who was perched near the end of the ladder, helped bring Reissig to safety. The dramatic escape was all captured on video.

Reissig, 56, suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex. There were no other reported injuries.

The cause of the fire was still unknown Wednesday, but witnesses said it might have been caused by workers who were welding on the roof.

Reissig, who works for JLB Partners, had been eating lunch at a trailer on the construction site around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when someone reported a fire. He grabbed an extinguisher and went up to the roof, where he put out some of the flames. But strong winds quickly spread the fire across the roof, so Reissig made his way to the fifth floor.

"At that point I saw a lot of smoke. ... It started burning my eyes, my throat. I couldn't breathe," he said.

Reissig found a window but couldn't open it. He said he thought he was going to die. But then he saw a door to one of the building's units and went onto its balcony.

"I thought, 'Ah, fresh air.' And then I look up and I see to my right all the flames on the building were that close. It was just amazing it had gone up that fast," he said.

Meanwhile, Karen Jones, who works in a nearby building, had come back to her fourth-floor office after picking up lunch when she found co-workers gathered at a window, watching the blaze. Jones, who captured Reissig's dramatic rescue on cellphone video, said when she and her co-workers saw Reissig come onto the balcony, they started to worry.

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Houston Construction Worker Describes Daring Escape From ...

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Houston firefighters continued to douse hot spots Wednesday morning, the day after a five-alarm inferno consumed an apartment complex under construction near downtown.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

From the Magnolia Cemetery of Houston firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Firefighters battled a large 5-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment building under construction on West Dallas near Montrose Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

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Fire official speculates on cause of Montrose blaze