Livestream shows father begging for help while trapped in massive building fire in Charlotte
Gripping footage from a Facebook livestream at the scene of a devastating fire in North Carolina showed two men trapped in the inferno begging for help before dying.
Demonte Tyree Sherrill, 30, was one of two people killed in the massive fire in Charlotte on Thursday.
The footage showed Sherrill begging desperately for help before being overtaken by the flames.
‘Jo. I’m working in South Park right now. The building is on fire and I can’t get out. It’s getting harder and harder for them to see us,” Sherrill stated calmly for the camera.
“The building is on fire and I’m trapped. Me and my husband,’ he said, showing himself and his colleague.
Crews were able to save 15 workers from the massive fire that broke out in an apartment complex under construction. One of the rescued was trapped in a high-rise crane due to smoke.
Demonte Tyree Sherrill, 30, who died in a fire in Charlotte, North Carolina, made a desperate plea for help on Facebook Live before being overcome by smoke
‘Jo. I’m working in South Park right now. The building is on fire and I can’t get out. It’s getting harder and harder for them to see us,” Sherrill says calmly to the camera
The Charlotte Fire Department shared footage of the inferno on their social media last week after the fire started at the construction site
Sherrill seemed to remain incredibly calm in the footage until he called for help.
‘STAFF! STAFF! STAFF!’ he exclaimed desperately.
‘Yo! This building is on fire. I am at work. We’re in South Park,” he repeated one more time before the video suddenly stops.
Sherrill was heard screaming for help with his own relatives who witnessed his disturbing final moments on the Facebook Live stream as the entire floor of the building filled with smoke.
“I was only hoping from the[Facebook Live]and the way the room was filling with smoke, I didn’t see any hope at that point,” his mother, Onita, shared. WSOC.
She said she felt numb and in shock after the horrific ordeal.
Sherrill and one other person died in the blaze as the crew rescued 15 people from the blaze
The fire service was hampered by the enormous smoke development
At one point, a trapped crane operator attempted to rescue the two men before being rescued from the high-rise
Flames shot out of the building from all sides as the fire took over
Fire investigators have confirmed that the fire started accidentally when a trailer was spraying insulation material
Sherrill was only on his third day at the construction site when he installed windows in the newly constructed apartment building.
‘He was a good man. A loving father. A caring person and he just wanted to be with his kids and his family,” she added.
Sherrill’s father also saw his son’s hopeless condition.
“I went to the scene and all the smoke… I mean, I couldn’t look,” Terry Campbell recalled Channel 9.
“Then I got in touch with his boss and then his boss let me know it was him,” Campbell said.
“We need time to grieve… We need time to take it all in,” Chrystina Stovall, Sherrill’s fiancé, told the broadcaster. Charlotte Observer. “I was on the phone with him when he was in that building, and it was burning down and he was screaming for help.”
Firefighters tried to reach the two men and heard their pleas, but had to give up their own rescue attempt.
“They were searching in an area of clearly limited visibility,” said Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson, according to WCNC.
The incident occurred in a multi-story building under construction after a spray foam insulation trailer on the ground floor suddenly ignited according to the subsequent Charlotte Fire investigation.
Sherrill was only on his third day at the construction site when he installed windows in the newly constructed apartment building.
An employee told local news that they had heard the fire was started by a generator
The collapse of the building was captured on video and shared on social media
Flames from the building could be seen from some distance and even showed up on the weather radar
More than 100 other workers escaped the flames as the building collapsed.
Reuben Holmes of Alabama was the other worker killed in the fire that broke out on the fourth floor of the building, which was still under construction.
The flames spread quickly due to the amount of exposed wood at the site.
At one point, a crane operator trapped in his cab saw the two workers trapped on a balcony and tried to save them by swinging a basket towards them, but the fire was too intense and he was unable to reach the pair.
“We put the crane on the basket there and tried to get them in the basket so we could get them down, but then the smoke started to black out and we couldn’t see them,” Alexa Escobar told WSOC.
The crane operator was later rescued after spending nearly an hour over the flames. By then the other two men were dead.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the father of four, raising $10,000 so far
Johnson explained at a news conference that firefighters on the scene were hampered by limited visibility as they tried to find the workers.
“The men and women of the Charlotte Fire Department extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Mr. Sherill and Mr. Holmes,” Charlotte Fire said in a statement Tuesday.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles sent his condolences to Sherrill’s family, describing him as a dedicated worker, loving father and family-oriented man. Sherrill’s children are 13, 12, 10 and 5 years old.
a GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for the father of four who raised $10,000.