Editor's note: Another fire in Connecticut early Tuesday left three dead. Read the story here.
March 11--They howled in sorrow and pain outside the charred apartment in west Orange County as the body count mounted Tuesday.
"They can't bring my sister and my nephew back," a distraught man screamed in the parking lot at Misty Oaks apartment complex, hours after the 3 a.m. blaze ripped through one of the 12-unit buildings in Pine Hills.
First, two bodies were found in one of the units, a one-bedroom that suffered the most damage in the 3 a.m. blaze.
Then a third was found in the ashes.
A man who escaped the flames was rushed to the hospital, complaining of smoke inhalation.
Authorities carefully combed through the embers for clues but had few details to release about the fatal fire, including the identities of the three victims and the survivor.
However, Incel Alexandre, a man who described himself as an uncle, said the victims were two boys and a woman in her 20s.
He said the boys' mother was in Haiti, and that the man who survived is a friend of the woman who died in the blaze.
They were "nice, cute boys," Alexandre said as tears rolled down his face.
Fire officials did not confirm any details about the victims.
The State fire marshal and Orange County Sheriff's Office are investigating.
Because the bodies and apartment were so badly burned, it could take a couple of days before officials identify the victims or provide an update on what may have caused the fire, said Lt. Paul Paterson, a spokesman for the state fire marshal.
Paterson said "it's hard to say" whether the fire was started by suspicious activity.
"We're in there just removing the debris from the ceiling, and the ceramic tile that's on top... it's all collapsed," Paterson said. "It's hard to tell. There's so much burn pattern."
Misty Oaks is a apartment complex -- with two-story apartment buildings -- off Colonial Drive near Hiawassee Road in Pine Hills.
About four units were damaged by the fire, causing temporary displacement for those who lived inside, Orange County Fire Rescue spokesman John Mulhall said.
A neighbor reported the fire after 3 a.m.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they saw smoke and flames billowing through the roof of the second-floor apartment in "6851 Building O" of the complex.
"The unit is a one bedroom, one bath with a living room and kitchen," Paterson said.
Firefighters found a man lying on the ground outside, complaining of smoke inhalation, Mulhall said.
He was taken to a local hospital.
Authorities have not released his name or relation to the deceased.
Gilbert Jean-Lewis, who lives in a Misty Oaks apartment, walked outside and saw the burning building.
He said the complex is usually quiet, with a lot of older people living there.
"One woman who lives in that [burning] building said there were kids trapped inside," Lewis said.
Authorities believe that the man and at least two of the victims lived in the apartment, according to Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ginette Rodriguez.
"We're trying to gather as many details as possible," she said.
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