Firefighters extinguish fire inside midtown Phoenix high-rise

PHOENIX - Firefighters extinguished a third-alarm fire burning inside a high rise building in midtown Phoenix on Sunday.

Crews from multiple Valley cities were called to a building near Central Avenue and Clarendon at around 9 a.m. on Jan. 1 and saw smoke coming from the 16th floor.

"A contents fire was quickly extinguished preventing spread to the structure and any other units," Phoenix fire officials said.

The man inside the unit that caught fire was medically evaluated but refused to be taken to the hospital. No injuries were reported, and one person was displaced.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This, of course, wasn't the way residents wanted to begin the new year.

"Woke up to some sirens, it was about 4 to 5 trucks at the time," said resident Graysen Virggs.

Those 4 to 5 trucks quickly turned into more than 40.

"We look out the balcony and there's just a ton of smoke coming out of the 16th floor," Virggs said.

Virggs and his friend Nate packed up a few belongings and rushed down from the top floor. He says the fire alarm never went off, and many people didn't realize what was happening.

"We were kind of shocked. It was a lot of fire trucks and smoke everywhere," Nate said. "I was freaking out, going crazy, I didn't know what to do."

According to the fire captain, the fire started in a unit on the 16th floor, but thankfully, it was contained.

Those who hadn't already rushed out were told to stay in their homes, with many looking down from their balconies watching as the firefighters battled the flames.

"It was a situation we call ‘shelter in place,’ so everyone sheltered in place. Contents fire did not extend to the structure at all. They did find a contents fire on the 16th floor. They were able to extinguish the fire," Phoenix Fire Capt. Joe Huggins said.