Emergency crews battled a fire at the new Xcel Energy building in Downtown Amarillo Saturday. It’s located at the intersection of 7th Ave. and Buchanan St.
Just before 1:45 p.m., the Amarillo Fire Department responded to a report of smoke coming from the building which is still under construction.
According to the department, employees were reporting there were two victims inside that were severely burned. Crews found two construction workers that were burned and possibly shocked. The two victims were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Crews located the fire on the second floor where they were able to keep it contained. Employees on scene reported that two construction workers were drilling into an electrical box and may have made contact with energized lines.
The Amarillo Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.
Opus Design Build, L.L.C, the national company overseeing construction, released this statement to MyHighPains.com, this evening:
“An incident occurred Saturday afternoon at SPS Amarillo Headquarters, an office project under construction in Amarillo, Texas. The incident involved two employees of a subcontractor that had been hired by a subcontractor of Opus Design Build, L.L.C. Work at the site has been suspended for the weekend following the incident. Opus is investigating the cause of the incident.”
Southwest General Contractors, a subcontractor of Opus Design Build L.L.C., confirmed Monday one of the construction workers taken to the hospital died Sunday.
In a statement, the company writes, “Our sympathies and prayers are with the families of the two workers.”
(Information from MyHighPlains.com)
