Firefighters reflect on historic Raleigh fire

A five-alarm fire engulfed an apartment building under construction in downtown Raleigh near the Glenwood South restaurant and bar district just one week ago.

Through it all, Raleigh firefighters stood their ground on the frontline.

Thefire threatened nearby buildings and required more than 100 firefighters to respond, including Captain Ryan Stagner.

“From the very beginning, we knew we had a very big fire," Stagner said. “We did a lot of work to be sure we were able to protect the buildings that were not on fire yet.”

Firefighters were in a defensive position, trying to protect nearby structures.

“We’re trying to decide where the best location, particularly for us on the ladder truck, is going to be to put that truck, where we can protect the most exposures,” Stagner said.

Firefighters worked well into the night Thursday and into the early morning Friday.

“I think we’ve all learned things, just from how big that fire was and really how a fire that big can affect that much area of the city,” Stagner said.

Stagner called this fire unique the biggest he's ever fought in his 12-year career. He said all he and his fellow firefighters did was their job.

“It’s humbling to us," he said. "I think we all just do. We do this a lot just for service, service to our community, and that’s why most of us like this job.”

Firefighters are looking at ways they can learn from how they battled last week's fire. Stagner said he's grateful there was no loss of life and that only one firefighter suffered minor injuries.

City officials said the fire investigation could take weeks if not months.