Rescue efforts resumed Thursday morning.
PHOENIX — The search for 22-year-old Oswaldo Montoya is ongoing after the warehouse where he worked collapsed during severe weather Wednesday night.
Firefighters will not go inside due to the instability of the building. Rescue efforts began again early Thursday morning.
“We're going to be here as long as we need to,” Phoenix Fire Chief and Public Information Officer Todd Keller said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Montoya, the father of a two-week-old baby, has been working at the facility for about a year, his family told 12News. Keller said at this time he did not know if Montoya was still alive.
Phoenix fire officials said a search and rescue dog was sent to the building to try to find Montoya. The Phoenix Fire Department also deployed cameras and drones inside the building.
Phoenix fire officials confirmed Thursday afternoon that two rescue dogs alerted the same location.
Keller explained at the press conference that the secondary collapse was a firefighter safety issue.
“Our first concern is the safety of the firefighters. We do know there are people in there, so we're going to take our time,” Keller told 12News.
“That's Moxie. That dog will go in and be trained to find trapped people, but right now our main concern is the possibility of the other three walls collapsing,” Keller said.
12 News crews have evacuated the building due to the risk of it collapsing.
The storm moving through Phoenix produced winds of up to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Officials believe a micro-explosion damaged the warehouse.
This is a development story. Please follow 12News for the latest updates.
Arizona Weather
Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. This is a video compilation of various storms in the Grand Canyon State.
