Nearly a year ago, fire scorched blocks of downtown Raleigh.
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A five-alarm fire engulfed an apartment building under construction in downtown Raleigh near the Glenwood South restaurant and bar district on March 16.
The fire spread to nine nearby buildings and forced evacuations.
The apartment complex under construction burned, damaging two more buildings to the point that residents moved out, including residents of the Link Apartments.
A firefighter cut by glass is the only known injury from the fire, believed to be Raleigh's largest in almost 100 years. But the destruction was immense.
Photos: Residents survey damage at Quorum Center
The massive fire damaged nearly a quarter of the apartments at Link. Some units were scorched, other had smoke or water damage.
Chad Taylor was living at the Link at the time – he said he rushed outside when he heard screaming.
"It was so scary," he said. "The first explosion actually happened when I came outside."
Taylor watched as massive flames consumed the apartment building under construction across the street from the Link. Firefighters struggled to get it under control.
"I wasn't sure I wasn't sure I would be coming back home at that point," he said.
When the fire was out, and the smoke cleared, 10 buildings were damaged – including six floors of the Link Apartments and 17 floors of the Quorum Center Condominium and office high-rise.
The rebuilding is ongoing – but the project at Link Apartments is officially complete.
"It feels like home again finally," Taylor said.
According to the city of Raleigh more than 100 people from local and state organizations investigated the fire conducted 300 interviews and removed about 25 tons of debris from the scene, but they never determined the cause of the fire.