Lightning Strikes, Fires Keep Firefighters Busy

Intense lightning that accompanied the angry thunderstorm that roared through north Georgia late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning is believed to have caused three separate house fires in Forsyth County. But firefighters and emergency personnel say it could have been much, much worse.

"The damage here was minimal, compared to what it was in some other counties," said Capt. Jason Shivers of the Forsyth County Fire Department. "We didn't experience anything like some of them did."

Firefighters did, however, respond to two separate calls less than five minutes apart and both were believed to have been caused by lightning strikes.

The first call came in at 12:51 a.m. When firefighters arrived at 12:54 a.m., fire was visible from the roof of a home at 2660 Hermitage Drive. Shivers said the fire was contained to the attic and did not extend to the livable space of the home. The fire was extinguished by 2:18 a.m.

"That one was an obvious lightning strike," Shivers said.

Less than five minutes later, firefighters responded to a call at 3340 Applecross Lane where the occupants reported a lightning strike and smelled smoke. No fire was visible, but there was some smoke. Shivers said it was very likely weather related, but did not result in an active fire. No injuries were reported in either incident.

The most serious incident occurred at 3:09 a.m. when a fire was reported at 4165 Settingdown Road near the intersection of Settingdown Circle.

"That was the worst of the three," Shivers said. "But, fortunately, the elderly couple who lived in the home had a properly installed, properly operating smoke detector and multiple means of egress." As a result, there were no serious injuries in that fire either.

"The wife was asleep upstairs and was alerted by the smoke detector," Shivers said. "She tried to get downstairs, but the smoke was so bad she escaped via an upstairs deck that had an exterior stairwell. "

Shivers said her husband was asleep in a recliner downstairs. He, too, was alerted by the smoke detector.

When firefighters arrived at 3:13 a.m., smoke and flames were visible and they began an aggressive assault. Two hours later, the fire had been extinguished.

The man was transported to Northside Hospital-Forsyth where he was treated for minor smoke inhalation and released.

"It was a great ending to what could have been a tragic situation," Shivers said.

Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the fire, but it is believed to have been weather related.