KISSIMMEE, Fla.,None — Osceola County deputies say two people were in a Kissimmee hotel room when a meth lab exploded late Thursday night. The explosion forced everyone inside the Carefree Inn and Suites on US-192 (see map) to be evacuated for hours after the blast caused a fire in the room on the third floor.
John Park faces charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and his partner, Danny Tarver, was badly burned and had to be transferred to Shand's Medical Center in Gainesville. Deputies say they are looking for a third suspect.
AT THE SCENE: Meth Lab Explodes At Hotel
"I heard the explosion. I was the first one to the room. I seen the dudes run across the parking lot, but I was looking to see if anyone inside was hurt," hotel guest Jim Pitt said.
Pitt is one of more than 100 hotel guests who were evacuated after two men blew up their hotel room while cooking methamphetamine. The blast blew the door off the hotel room and shattered the windows.
Investigators took pictures (see them) inside the room showing the damage, including the bathtub that was ripped from the wall.
"It was blowed up, the beds were tore apart, it blew up pretty good," Pitt said.
"The ground shook and then everybody said there was a bomb and that we need to evacuate," guest Lisa Nieves said.
"All we thought was, ‘Run, run get out of there.' Because we didn't know if there was going to be a second explosion or if it was just one that happened like that," guest Carlos Pagan said.
The hotel was off limits to guests for hours as a hazmat team made sure the room was safe. Meanwhile, deputies tracked down the two men, who both suffered burns. Tarver is in bad condition at a Gainesville burn center with second and third-degree burns on his face, body, arms and legs.
"The suspects put innocent individuals' lives in danger and that is unfortunate. Manufacturing methamphetamine is very dangerous," Pitt said.
Investigators say they are still looking for a woman named Jessica Denny. Eyewitness News learned Denny and Tarver had been arrested for cooking meth in a hotel room before.