Fargo's airport passenger terminal was briefly evacuated Thursday morning after a small fire started in a construction area, airport and fire officials said.
Hector International Airport is in the midst of a$15.5 million expansion and remodeling project.
Part of the project involves replacing the terminal's escalators with wider ones. Workers were using cutting torches as part of the demolition process, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Balstad said.
"They managed to get a little fire going inside the wall of one of the escalators and created enough smoke to activate the alarms," Balstad said.
Workers found and extinguished it by the time firefighters arrived, Balstad said.
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Shawn Dobberstein, executive director of the Municipal Airport Authority, estimated 120 people were briefly evacuated about 10:20 a.m.
The airport opened doors through the terminal to clear out the smoke, Dobberstein said.
"It turned out OK," he said.
