ORLANDO, Florida

More than 200 people have been evacuated from an apartment building just west of Orlando after a woman called 911 early Thurs when she couldn't open her front door & heard popping sounds.

The division chief with Orange Co Fire Rescue, said when crews arrived they had to pry the woman's door open & found structural instabilities in the building.

A portion of the building was evacuated at that time. Other doors also had to be pried open to free residents. Crews found cracks inside.

A woman said fire crews used an ax to pry her door open & free her. She lived below the woman who originally called 911.

The Rialto apartments are located on W Sand Lake Rd in Dr. Phillips, just west of I-4.

Building inspectors had to be brought in & determined the entire building needed to be evacuated.

It's unclear if or when residents would be allowed back in. An engineer needs to look at the building.

https://www.wesh.com/article/rialto-apartments-orlando-florida-evacuated-structure/70792586

DENVER, Colorado

The Denver FD said an explosion and fire at a Shell gas station on Thur injured 2 people.

The explosion and fire occurred just before noon at the intersection of W. 5th Ave and Bryant St.

Robert Murphy, the operations division chief for Denver Fire said investigators are checking with Xcel Energy to determine if a natural gas issue caused the explosion, but the exact cause is still unknown.

Officials are also investigating a vehicle fire behind the Shell station, reported shortly before the explosion, as a possible cause of the blast.

“We will be here for a while because this building is structurally compromised. It will likely collapse on itself. We’re not allowing firefighters to go inside,” he said during a press briefing.

https://www.denver7.com/traffic/driver-crashes-into-building-off-w-6th-ave-and-interstate-25-closing-roads

Sent in by a Doomsday SkyHound in FL ⬆️⬇️
3-19-26