A major fire is raging in a high-rise office building in Madrid. The blaze broke out on one of the upper floors. Several sections of the building have collapsed downward. \nThe "Windsor" skyscraper is on fire — one of the most famous buildings in Madrid's business district. It was constructed in 1973. In the apt expression of foreign correspondents, the building resembles a burning candle. With each hour, like wax, the number of floors of the skyscraper diminishes. \n \nAs NTV television company reports, the fire has engulfed almost all floors and destroyed the skyscraper's internal partitions. The building could collapse at any moment. Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon stated that the building may ultimately not hold and could collapse completely. In that case, there is a danger of the fire spreading to neighboring buildings. \n \nDozens of fire crews are fighting the flames, but so far unsuccessfully. The matter has been taken under personal control by the Prime Minister of Spain. This fire has already been called the largest in Madrid in the last half-century. \n \nFirefighters do not rule out that the load-bearing reinforced concrete structures may collapse. Explosions can be heard. According to specialists, gas is exploding, although the main gas pipeline was immediately shut off. \n \nThe area has been cordoned off. So far, three people are known to be injured — they are firefighters who were poisoned by combustion products. It has been definitively established that no one other than security was in the building — the skyscraper, which mainly housed offices of major firms, had recently been under renovation. Meanwhile, just in case, residents of all nearby buildings were evacuated. \n \nFirefighters are pouring water on neighboring buildings; the temperature around is so high that the tower crane installed near the "Windsor" could melt. Authorities state that this is the largest fire in Madrid in the last 50 years. \n \nIt is not yet clear what caused the fire, AP reports. It may be a short circuit. \n \nMeanwhile, Spaniards are already calling the skyscraper incident a "new September 11." \n \nMM