Animals Killed In Three-Alarm Fire At Orlando's Gatorland
POSTED: 6:29 am EST November 6, 2006
UPDATED: 6:14 pm EST November 6, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A three-alarm fire broke out in one of central Florida's oldest attractions early Monday morning, killing three animals but injuring no one at Gatorland.
SLIDESHOW: Images From The Scene
EMPLOYEES: Devastated By Damaging Gatorland Fire
TIMELINE: History Of Orlando's Gatorland
The blaze charred the concrete alligator mouth tourists walked through to enter the park -- an old Florida icon that has appeared in movies, magazines and countless tourists' pictures.
Gatorland spokeswoman Michelle Harris said
two 8-foot-long pythons kept in a holding pen near the gift shop were dead, as was a 5-foot-long crocodile.
Another crocodile named Mr. O, who kept in the same area was feared dead, but was later found alive, she said. He had managed to stay safe by dipping underwater in a pond, Harris said.
The other few thousand of the park's animals were kept in pens away from the fire or in enough water to protect them.
GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL
9 a.m. Headlines
Noon Headlines
4 p.m. Headlines
News of the Strange
Breaking News Alerts
The fire, reported at 5:55 a.m., destroyed the park's 7,000-square-foot gift shop, entrance and some administrative offices. Other office space, and the places where Gatorland entertainers perform were not damaged.
The park opened in 1949 and attracts about 400,000 tourists each year. It features exhibitions of people wrestling gators, a "jumparoo" show where the big reptiles leap for food, and "up close" encounters where guests can hold snakes, scorpions, spiders and birds.
Orange County Fire Battalion Chief Vince Preston said the souvenir store was engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived.
"It had already been through the roof; it was obvious that this was going to be an extended operation," he said.
Preston said it took about two hours to get the blaze under control. It was finally declared out, despite some nagging hot spots, at about 12:30 p.m.
The fire destroyed the park's main entrance and marred its most distinctive feature: a giant, concrete gator head, whose jaw is now blackened with soot and full of debris. The mural facade around it, which had just been given a fresh coat of paint in a $1.5 million overhaul, was torn and burnt. The cypress and palm trees lining the outside were singed and limp.
Harris said the giant gator mouth was still potentially salvageable.
She said officials would try to reopen the park as soon as possible, but it was unclear how quick that may be. They will have to devise another entrance for guests.
"This park is like an old alligator. Gators fight, they get scarred up, they get beat up, they tear each other up, but they're resilient," Gatorland official Tim Williams said. "This park's been here for 57 years. We're not going anywhere. It's the alligator capital of the world. It's got a few scars and smudges on it, but we'll clean it up."
How Sad
Reported By Gringrinnyghosts getting Info From WFTV9
They Have Video and slideshow:
http://www.wftv.com/news/10249356/detail.html
Oh my gosh, how sad. We didn't visit Gatorland on our last trip due to time constraints, now I wish we had. I really hope we get a chance to visit in the future. The worst thing about fires is losing the animals - I hope they can save them.
Looking forward to reopening. 
In '79 while attending college at FL Tech. As a practical joke, a classmate from the dorm (and our ride )stranded us at Gatorland with no way back to Melbourne 70 miles away. 
We got him back. HeHeHe. 
