Lightning sparks fire at Winter Park apartment complex

Firefighters remain on the scene Wednesday morning after racing into action Tuesday night when lightning sparked an apartment fire in Winter Park.

In all, 12 apartments at the Solis at Winter Park Apartments on Key Largo Drive were damaged. Orange County firefighters say when they arrived on the scene,  flames were shooting through the roof.

 



 

 

It quickly escalated to a 2-alarm fire.

More than 50 first responders responded to aggressively attack the flames. It took an hour and a half to put out the fire.

At one point, they even had to rescue a Dalmatian puppy that was trapped inside an apartment.

 



 

 

The dog’s owner wasn’t home when the fire broke out, but rushed back when she was driving by and saw the fire trucks.

"When they brought her out, I cried," said the puppy's owner Alexandra Chesley. " I was just so happy to see her. I think she was more terrified of being carried out in her crate than anything else.

The owner says she is eternally grateful those firefighters pulled her dog out.

The people living inside the damaged apartments are now staying in vacant apartments here at the complex.