Apartment explosion leaves man in critical condition

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) rescued a man from and early morning apartment fire in southwest Gainesville.  Multiple 911 calls were received about a fire at 3415 SW 39^th Boulevard, with one female caller screaming that there was a fire and the alarm was going off.  Another caller reported a wall had exploded. The first call was received at 2:38 a.m. Monday.

        Gainesville Firefighters arrived at the Gateway at Glades Apartments just off S.W. 34^th Street to reports of a fire on the third floor in apartment #133.  They forced open the door and located a male victim with severe burns.  The man was rescued from the apartment and transported to Shands hospital under a trauma alert.
        
        The fire was contained to the apartment in large part because of a fire sprinkler that had been activated by the fire.  There were obvious signs of some type of explosion including one exterior wall blown into the stairway and significant damage to the interior walls and ceiling. The fire alarm activated and alerted the other occupants to evacuate and no other injuries were reported.        
        
        The age and name of the victim is not being released pending notifications.  The cause and circumstances of the fire are under investigation by GPD and GFR investigators. 

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