Dive Brief:

• Fire investigators were trying Wednesday to pin down what started a blaze that went from small to inferno in minutes Tuesday afternoon at a multifamily building under construction in Houston.
• At the same time, several restaurants were offering free food to city firefighters in thanks for all their work, which included a rescue, caught on video, of a construction worker who had to drop from a balcony to the one under it and then jump to a ladder, where a fire captain caught him and helped him down.
• The building, valued at about $50 million, was made of timber, while high winds and low humidity helped the fire, and fire-suppression systems had not yet been installed.

Dive Insight:

Speculation at the start of the investigation was that a welder might have caused the fire. It broke out in early afternoon while the structure was filled with workers. The scenario was eerily similar to a fire that recently destroyed an apartment building under construction in San Francisco.