A raging fire at a construction site in Kingston forced the evacuation of an entire neighbourhood, and caused some frightening moments for a construction crane operator.

The operator was trapped in the cab of the crane over the blaze for more than an hour yesterday before crawling to the end of the horizontal beam where he was rescued by a military helicopter.

A rescue team from CFB Trenton flew to the area to pluck the operator off the end of the crane. Members of the team say an urban rescue is not usually the sort of incident they train for. They primarily rescue people from boats or the woods. A technician had to be lowered by a cable and place a collar around the crane operator, who was stiff from the cold and having to hold on to a precarious perch.

The crane operator was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

People in the neighbourhood were advised to stay away overnight, partially because of concern over the stability of the giant crane. The fire is still smouldering.