GASTONIA, N.C. — Nearly 60 firefighters worked Saturday night to get a fire under control in Gastonia.
The fire started around 8 a.m. at a warehouse in the 1900 block of Poplar Street, near Interstate 85 and Bessemer City Road.
A police report on the fire estimates the damages around $4 million.
"It's heartbreaking to see it go up like this," said Phyllis Gunning.
She couldn't stand to watch the flames consuming the warehouse.
The facility stores paper products and lightweight metals. Officials told Eyewitness News it is owned by Wix Filters, one of the largest companies in Gaston County.
Gunning said she has worked for the company for more than 40 years.
"It's going to affect everybody's livelihoods," she said.
Gastonia Fire Chief Phil Welch said three people were working in the building Saturday morning.
One of them said the power went out just before he noticed the fire. Crews fought the flames from inside for two hours but were forced outside.
“There was an aggressive attack inside, but just because of the storage fight, we were not able to overcome that nor was the sprinkler system,” Welch said.
"You hardly ever see it get that much advance in a short amount of time," he added.
Firefighters said a multilevel roof also hampered fire control efforts.
Eyewitness News attempted to reach out to Wix Filters, but has not heard back.
Welch said he thinks the fire may have been accidental.