Roof gas fire at Raleigh Convention Center disrupts downtown events, traffic

Emergency dispatchers began receiving 911 calls reporting heavy flames at the Raleigh Convention Center just before 9:30 p.m. on December 4, 2025. The first caller told dispatchers at 9:29 p.m. "I see, like, a big fire, a huge fire right in front of me, right in front of the convention center." Within five minutes police had blocked streets around the building and fire units were on scene.

Raleigh Fire Chief Herbert Griffin said firefighters quickly discovered the roof fire was being fueled by a natural gas feed. "When the incident commander and the units got on top of the roof is when they realized that there was a natural gas feed," Chief Griffin said. Department radio traffic and released 911 audio show a rapid sequence of actions. By about 9:54 p.m. dispatchers reported that part of the fire was under control while the gas fed portion remained active. The gas provider arrived on site around 10:02 p.m. and secured the line by about 10:28 p.m. Firefighters declared the fire under control shortly thereafter.

Officials reported the roof fire did not spread to nearby buildings and interior damage was limited. The city released a timeline built from 911 calls and Broadcastify radio traffic, and that timeline references the city's inspection history for the convention center as part of the incident record. Within ten minutes of the first 911 call crews had contacted the gas company to shut off fuel to the structure, a step that emergency personnel say was critical to fully extinguishing the flames.

The immediate impact on downtown Wake County included multiple street closures, traffic detours, and cancellations of scheduled events at the convention center. Those cancellations carry short term economic consequences for hotels, restaurants and vendors that rely on convention traffic, and officials are assessing the cost of lost bookings and any repair work needed to reopen affected spaces. Investigations are continuing to determine the precise source of the gas feed and whether any regulatory or maintenance issues contributed to the incident.

For residents and businesses, the episode underscores the value of rapid coordinated emergency response and the importance of infrastructure safety in downtown planning. City officials have said they will provide updates as the inspection and investigation progress.