Smoke filled the air along International drive in Orlando as the Avanti Resort went up in flames Sunday evening.

Firefighters were able to extinguish a two alarm building fire at Avanti Resort nearly two hours after it started around 6 p.m., according to the Orange County Fire Rescue.

There were no injuries, even though 500 rooms were evacuated.

The fire happened in one of the back buildings in the hotel and it started on the roof of that building.

Many guests were standing outside watching smoke fill the air. The Orange County fire rescue said three buildings were evacuated. Guests are now able to use two of those buildings, but the third building is severely damaged.

“[I am] feeling terrible for the tourists that are staying at that hotel. There is no other way to describe it. Within my 12 years staying here, I have never witnessed something like this ever in my life,” Antonio Belter said.

Fire crews will remain on the scene for the next couple of hours to make sure there are no hotspots.

The Orange County Fire Rescue said lightning caused the fire.

 

(Photo/Christina Jensen Staff)

Charles Smith, the Battalion Chief for Orange County said there were 29 trucks who assisted in this effort.
He said battling a fire like this was extremely tough for crews.

He’s pleased there were no injuries.

“It was extremely tough you see the weather. The fact that I said it was a very intense fire and the fact that it was through the roof and the attic that is always a challenge because the fire pretty much has a head start and man power initially we had units come in from other areas so those guys that got here first and working extremely extremely hard with minimal resources,” he said.

The State Marshall will now take over the investigation.

(PHOTO/Courtesy Leandro Perera)