Karen Jones watched the rescue from the fourth floor of an adjacent building. She shot video on which you can see that worker on the fifth-floor ledge of that burning complex.
The construction worker was desperate to get down. A ladder truck was nearby.
"When we saw his foot slip, it was just like uhhh, oh God he's going to fall. We thought he was going to be gone," Jones said.
The man hangs, then drops to a ledge below, slipping and falling, but then getting back up. With seconds now feeling like hours, the ladder truck finally makes it over to that man. He got on and then seconds later, the roof of that building started to collapse.
"You just try and get to him," said HFD Senior Captiain Hawthorn. "And then, you don't want him to jump too soon. He waited until we got the ladder truck close enough."
It was a close, close call, the worker makes it safely on the ladder.
"He just said, 'Thank you Jesus.' He was ecstatic," Hawthorn said.
Jones is still in awe.
"I hope that wherever he is, he's thanking God that he made it off there," said Jones. "And he's home with his family now."
That worker was treated and released on the scene.
The exact causes and origin of the fire has not been released.
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