ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Five people, including a teen, were taken to the hospital after fireworks exploded and sparked a large fire at a warehouse in Orange County Thursday night.
The fire occurred around 7:10 p.m. at the fireworks company, Magic in the Sky, located at 901 Central Florida Parkway, fire officials said.
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According to Battalion Chief Garrett Wienckowski, crews were told on the way to the fire that there were fireworks going off in the building, and people were still trapped inside.
Upon arrival, crews said they saw flames and began treating multiple patients. Officials on Thursday reported that five people were hurt in the incident, later clarifying that four patients were transported by Orange County Fire Rescue and one patient was self-transported.
In a briefing, Wienckowski said the warehouse caught fire after the fireworks stored inside ignited — though the cause of ignition is still unknown.
“I do not know the cause of the fire, but it did extend into the fireworks, which (caused) a chain reaction, very similar to the one in Melbourne,” said Wienckowski, referencing a car crash that had set off fireworks at a store in Brevard County on Monday.
He added that crews dealt with fireworks exploding around them as they went in to rescue more patients. Several employees and at least one teen were pulled from the building, crews said.
More than 80 FFs & 31 units were dispatched at approx 7:10pm to a multiple-occupancy warehouse with heavy flames/smoke, w/ fireworks stored inside the building actively exploding. Crews made multiple rescues, transporting 4 patients. SFM will investigate the cause. No FFs injured https://t.co/kE7YEaTXkg pic.twitter.com/M4QzfwQgXM
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) December 2, 2022
“Just loud explosions. Could’ve been mortars, bottle rockets, there were very loud explosions,” Wienckowski said. “You could see the explosions from outside of the building. Crews on the interior were making rescues while all this was going on.”
Wienckowski told News 6 that it’s not yet clear how many people were in the building.
While the fire took place near French Furniture Orlando, Wienckowski said the furniture warehouse was not involved in the fire. He also said that no firefighters were injured during the incident.
[DRONE VIDEO BELOW COURTESY OF Lewis Electric]
Drone video courtesy of Lewis Electric shows first responders outside of the building as crews tackled the fire, which ripped across a large portion of the building.
No information has yet been released about the condition of patients taken to the hospital.
News 6 reached out to the fireworks company for comment and is waiting to hear back.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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