AP/Wideworld Tar bucket suspected as source of control tower blaze.

Tar spilled during construction of an unoccupied American Airlines ramp control tower at Miami International Airport July 11 and ignited into flames that sent heavy smoke billowing from the structure.

Firefighters hand carried the hose up the tower, brought the fire under control within 20 minutes and assessed the workers for injuries, says Lt. Elkin Sierra at a televised news conference. One person sustained a minor burn to an extremity and was transported to an area hospital.

Sierra could not say whether the tar spilled or the unattended tar pot had overflowed. He said it is not unusual for heat from tar coming in contact with a combustible material to cause a fire. He said the fire occurred either on the roof or the decking area around the tower.

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Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, says that the fire did not affect air traffic operations, because the main Federal Aviation Administration tower continued functioning and air traffic controllers were able to direct aircraft without delays. A ramp tower is used by an airline to guide aircraft around the gate area, he says.

The work on the ramp tower at Concourse D is part of the $2.6-billion North Terminal expansion project headed up by Parsons-Odebrecht Joint Venture (POJV), a partnership between Parsons Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., and Odebrecht USA of Coral Gables, Fla. Decktight Roofing Services of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a roofing subcontractor to Crompton Construction of Miami was working on the job at the time, says Greg Chin, airport spokesperson.

A woman answering the telephone at Crompton said she was not authorized to release any information.

Before the incident, the gate tower was scheduled to open later this year, Chin says. Currently, the airline is using cameras to watch the gates and make assignments. Chin says he does not know if the fire will delay the opening.