Disney World guests evacuated after fire breaks out near Cinderella Castle

UPDATE FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:

A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom started in a tree and may have been caused by fireworks debris, officials said Wednesday.

The blaze broke out Tuesday after fireworks were set off near the Cinderella Castle, Reedy Creek Fire Association president Jon Shirey told WESH-TV. The castle and surrounding areas were evacuated.

Disney workers quickly extinguished the flames and escorted first responder trucks down Main Street, Shirey said.

He said the only injury involved a person who accidentally inhaled chemicals from a fire extinguisher. The person was treated at the scene.

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Katie Rice
Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. — A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Tuesday night prompted guests to evacuate an area of the park next to Cinderella Castle.

An unsigned statement from the company said a small fire broke out in the Magic Kingdom and was quickly extinguished.

Jon Shirey, president of the Reedy Creek Firefighters Association, said the call initially came into the fire department around 6:45 p.m. as an electrical fire on a junction box outside the castle.

Fire personnel treated a security guard who inhaled dry chemicals from a fire extinguisher, Shirey said.

An unidentified Disney spokesperson later said a cast member was transported from the park for non-emergency treatment. No other injuries were reported.

Once firefighters arrived, they saw a tree on fire next to the structure, he said. Cinderella Castle was evacuated and roped off to Disney guests.

Firefighters told him a firework appeared to have caught the tree on fire, he said, but the cause of the blaze is still pending investigation by the Fire Marshal.

There was no scheduled fireworks show at the time of the incident, according to the Disney app.

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A spokesperson for the Reedy Creek Fire Department did not immediately respond to requests for additional information Tuesday.

Photos of Reedy Creek Fire Department trucks driving down the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street rapidly circulated Twitter as Disney guests discussed the incident. One person said they were among a group of visitors directed through the Liberty Square area to Frontierland, away from the emergency response.

Though firefighters avoid driving through main areas of Disney’s parks when possible, the nature of the call caused responders to drive down the Main Street area of the Magic Kingdom, Shirey added.

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