A cell phone tower in Sanford that caught fire Wednesday will be torn down.
The tower is located at 700 Historic Goldsboro Blvd., near the intersection of U.S. 17-92 and 13th Street.
Crews were working to remove a bucket that was dangling off the side of the tower after the fire started around 11:30 a.m.
Firefighters said five workers with Sabre Communication were adding reinforcements to strengthen it when the fire started.
“There were flames on the very top of it. And it’s a little surprising to see a fire in the air like that. The guys were up their working on that tower for the past 10 days or so. And I was really surprised to see that were having an issue with it,” said Carol Everett, who works nearby.
As flames were shooting out of the tower, firefighters said the workers had to rappel down to safety when a bucket wouldn’t lower them down fast enough.
One of the workers may have had chest pains at the scene, but all five workers are expected to be okay, officials said.
At one point, the tower looked like it would collapse at any moment.
“At that point, we determined it was imminent. The structure was destroyed and it was going to come down,” said Matt Minnetto with the Sanford Fire Department.
Engineers have determined the tower will be able to stand on its own until crews can take it down piece by piece.
The well-known bar The Barn and a restaurant were both evacuated and traffic was detoured around the area for much of the day.
Traffic was allowed back on 17-92 through Sanford, but 13th street will remain shut down in the area until crews can remove the entire tower in the coming days.