‘An inferno in the middle of the night': Orange County apartment building goes up in flames

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Fourteen people were displaced after an Orange County apartment building near International Drive went up in flames early Friday morning.

Orange County Fire Rescue said it was called to Lexington Place Apartments at 1 a.m. Friday. The complex is 3 miles away from I-Drive, not far from the tourist district.

Resident Ben Reeves said the smoke was “absolutely brutal.”

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"It was definitely an inferno in the middle of the night," Reeves said. "I’m still a little shaken up by it, it was a crazy experience."

Reeves said he originally thought the fire could have been a false alarm. But he said as soon as he opened the door onto his porch he was hit with a blast of heat and smoke.

“I ran out and just started banging on everybody’s door yelling ‘Fire get out! Get out! Get out!’” he said.

Firefighters said the fire was accidentally caused by an electrical malfunction on a porch, and three dozen firefighters responded to the scene. The Red Cross said 14 people were displaced due to the fire, and that 12 of them were given hotel rooms.

As a result of the damage, fire officials said power and water were turned off to half of the units in the affected building but could not advise when utilities would be reconnected.

This is a developing story. Watch Eyewitness News at noon for the latest updates.

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