ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A fire at an Orlando hotel early Wednesday morning left one person dead, authorities said.
The fire marshal was at the scene, trying to determine what caused the blaze.
The fire started in a room on the second floor of the Country Side Inn & Suites on Lee Road, next to Interstate 4.
The blaze forced dozens of other people to evacuate their rooms.
"I was sound asleep, and thank God some guy was running around banging on the doors," said evacuee Evan Stewart.
Most of the guests were sleeping when the fire broke out on the second floor of the 30-unit building.
"The security guard said, 'Out! Out! You got to get out! Fire!' I said, 'Oh shoot!'" Stewart said.
The name of the person who died in the fire was not released.
"It could be from the fire, it could be foul play, but as far as everything looks, it looks like it was probably from the fire," said Ralph Astalita, Orange County Fire Rescue enigineer.
The extended-stay motel was occupied by many families, and most of them were forced to grab their belongings and move to other rooms, including Stewart.
"You've got 30 seconds to grab what is most important to you. What would that be? And that's what was going through my head last night," Stewart said.
The Orange County Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy on the victim.
Meanwhile, hotel management said it's trying to figure out which units are livable and what areas will remain off limits.
Just hours after the fire, a U-Haul truck crashed into the side of the inn. There were no injuries reported in that crash.
WFTV
