ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Three people injured in the fire Thursday evening at an Orange County fireworks warehouse have died, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
It has been confirmed that Landon Bourland, 24, David Gonzalez, 22, and Lindsey Phillips, 23, have died after being transported to the hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
Two are still injured and remain hospitalized.
Video shows flames shooting out of the roof of the warehouse on Central Florida Parkway near Florida’s Turnpike in Taft.
More than 24 hours later, there is still a large presence outside of the warehouse.
The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
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Firefighters said people were trapped inside as fireworks and explosives were going off.
The fire broke out around 7 p.m. on Thursday and crews were still working at the scene nearly 12 hours later.
Officials said more than 80 firefighters were called to the scene.
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Faced with a fast-moving fire and people trapped inside, firefighters were sent in to pull people out.
Firefighters said five people were hurt, and four were taken to a hospital.
State records show at least 8 different businesses are registered and active, the largest being a French furniture store.
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However, fire crews said the fireworks were not held there.
Firefighters were also concerned as one of the businesses stored chlorine. Thankfully, the fire didn’t reach that area.
Orange County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Garrett Wienckowski said things didn’t look good when they arrived, but people in danger forced him to make the call to send his crews inside.
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“I would never send any of my people into a burning building with fireworks going off, because we did have confirmed victims inside, we did an aggressive attack sent everybody in, and did manage to pull victims out,” Wienckowski said.
The fire was contained to the building that housed the explosives.
Officials said no firefighters were hurt during the rescues and while battling the flames.
Firefighters said there is an active investigation, and it is still unknown what caused the blaze.
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