ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Fire Rescue released 911 calls made Thursday night when a large fire at an Orange County warehouse ignited numerous fireworks that killed three and injured two others.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at the fireworks company, Magic in the Sky, located at 901 Central Florida Parkway.
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Five people, including a teen, were taken to the hospital after the fireworks explosion. Of the five, three died and were identified as David Gonzalez, 22; Lindsey Phillips, 23; and Landon Bourland, 24.
One 911 call released by fire rescue is made by someone who told dispatch his girlfriend was still in the building.
“I don’t know where she is,” he said. “My girlfriend’s still in there. She’s more than likely hurt. I’m trying not to go in there.”
The call was released after the family of one of the injured workers fighting for her life, Lindsey Tallafuss, called on community support after they said her boyfriend warned them something was wrong.
The 911 caller also said he was tending to at least three injured people while on the phone with the operator, some of whom were bleeding and suffering from burns.
“It seems the outer layer of skin all burned off. His clothes have burned off,” the caller said.
Another 911 caller appeared to be in the area at the time of the fire and reported “someone is getting burned right now” and another person is overheard saying, “Somebody is severely burned.”
Later on in the call, the man tells dispatch is appears the building is “about to light off.”
One 911 caller reported seeing “all the fire just like coming down” while driving by.
“I saw when it just exploded, it just seemed like 1,000, 100,000 like fireworks just like booming out,” the caller said.
Another caller appeared to be an employee who was helping an injured woman and reporting there was a lot of smoke and possibly a fire.
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. He said crews worked to rescue people while fireworks were exploding around them.
“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.”
Magic in the Sky released the following statement Saturday.
Representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), state and local authorities, are currently on-site gathering information.
We are appreciative of the authorities for their very responsive and professional services. Magic in the Sky is cooperating with the investigation. We are especially grateful for the prompt response of Orange County fire and rescue squad for their emergency services and the medical staff at ORMC hospital
providing care to our injured employees.
Safety is, and always has been, our company’s number one priority. Our highly qualified personnel are
trained on a regular basis in the procedures used to properly handle and prep pyrotechnic products for the entertainment productions that we produce.
Magic in the Sky will conduct a thorough and complete review of this incident and make our findings available to the public. In the interim, we ask that you let the investigations take place and allow us to focus on our personnel, the injured and their families. We kindly request that you also respect the privacy of the families involved as they grieve and work through this most difficult time.
Magic in the Sky
The State Fire Marshal remains the lead in the investigation of the fire and the deaths are not being investigated as homicides, according to the sheriff’s office.
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