The Rialto Apartments: Latest updates, evacuations, inspections

3 failed fire safety inspections at apartment with current structural concerns

An Orange County apartment building, The Rialto, was evacuated due to reported structural concerns. Photos show cracks on the surface of walls. As of March 20, the cause of the damage has not been identified. It's not know when tenants or employees of the affected businesses can return to the building.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Nearly 400 people were evacuated from The Rialto Apartments in Orange County, Florida on Thursday morning after jammed doors, cracks, and "popping noises" raised concerns about the building's potential stability.

A spokesperson for Orange County Government told FOX 35 on Thursday that there was not believed to be an imminent danger of imminent collapse, but due to the concerns, the decision was made to evacuate the building and businesses.

The building's management company has been ordered to hire a licensed engineer or architect to determine whether these cracks formed over time or if there was something causing them to form more recently. Until then, the businesses remain closed, and the residents are not allowed to return home.

FOX 35 has reached out to several representatives for the apartment complex, management company, and building owner for comment. We have not received a response.

The backstory:

A woman called 911 around 4 a.m. because her door was jammed, and she could not get out of her apartment, a spokesperson for Orange County Fire Rescue said. The woman also reported hearing "popping noises" and feared the five-story building was going to collapse.

First responders rushed to the apartment building and found damage on every floor and several doors jammed. Firefighters had to force several doors open to help residents get out, a spokesperson said.

When was the building last inspected?

Orange County’s Division of Building Safety conducted inspections in 2013 and 2014, when the five-story, 200-unit building was being built, a spokesperson for Orange County Government said. There are eight businesses on the first floor.

The building's owner and management company are responsible for ongoing maintenance, Orange County said.

Orange County said it enforces codes when violations are identified, though routine inspections are not conducted unless there is a complaint or another inspection is going on.

"The Division of Building Safety was not made aware of any structural concerns at this property until the early morning of March 19, when the County was notified of a 911 call by Orange County Fire Rescue."

Last year, the property failed three fire safety inspections.

"Fire inspections are focusing on the fire prevention code," said Chief Willie Farhat with Orange County Fire Rescue Dept. "We look for obvious signs of structural instability – there were none at that time."

Photos show cracks, damage inside the building

The Orange County's Building Department released several photos taken inside and outside The Rialto Apartments on Thursday.

Officials have not yet made a determination about the building's integrity nor the cause of several of the cracks noticed in the photos. The photos show various cracks near several doors.

Other photos showed cracks on the outside of the building. Again, it's unclear if all the cracks are related, independent of each other, nor if there is an overarching cause.

Allorda Day Space manager: ‘We were just as surprised as the residents were'

Stephanie Bocchini, spa manager of Allora Day Spa, said they opened their Sand Lake Road location about five years ago, and never noticed any cracks or structural issues.

"We were just as surprised as the residents were," Bocchini said. "For as long as we’ve been there, we haven’t really had any issues with that building."

Bocchini said their Dr. Phillips location is one of their busiest. They are fortunate to be able to shift clients to keep up with demand as they await engineers’ findings.

"Luckily we’re still operating from our other three spas right now," Bocchini said. "Fingers crossed that everything is going to come out clear and safe for us to proceed with business!"