Lightning strike causes house fire
By Kathy Thomson
Intense thunderstorms rolled through Shackelford County on both Sunday and Monday of last week, July 7 and 8, dropping over an inch of rain and creating lightning displays that rivaled a Fourth of July fireworks show.
The official two-day rainfall total was 1.35 inches, but some residents recorded as much as two or two-and-a-half inches in their gauges.
However, lightning was the highlight of the weather event.
One boom in particular, one that occurred late morning on Monday, July 8, was powerful enough that several homeowners reportedly thought that their houses may have been struck.
Most of them, luckily, only found minor damage, mostly related to computers or appliances.
The local water treatment plant, hit by lightning several times since it was built, was spared this time.
“We missed this one,” said water manager David Bales this week. “The water plant is functioning normally.”
Some parents undoubtedly found that the event disrupted their busy schedule when ResourceCare cancelled Day Camp that Monday afternoon due to the rain.
“We sent the kids home early because the pool closed,” said program assistant Ragan Riley. “That is our normal policy.”
But one local home directly across from the high school track was hit by that particular Monday morning lightning bolt, and the homeowners credit the quick actions of firemen, help of neighbors, quality of construction materials used by the builder, luck, and the providence of God for their house surviving, even though it will require a lot of work to repair the damage.
Lightning Strike
“I had been out at the ranch, working all morning, and came home to clean up and fix lunch for Glenn,” said Brenda Picquet. “I’d just finished drying my hair when I heard something that sounded like a loud slap, and sparks shot out of the electrical outlets! I thought, ‘This can’t be good’.”
Picquet went upstairs to check things out and saw smoke emerging from the air conditioner return vents.
“I called Glenn and he said, ‘Call 911!’,” Picquet said. “The firefighters were here in 10 minutes or less, and they were in full gear and breathing apparatus and up in the attic within 15 minutes (of when I called 911).”
The first responders called for additional help.
“On July 8, the Albany Volunteer Fire Department responded to a two-story, single family dwelling with a report of lightning strike, resulting in an attic fire,” said chief Kyle Tischler. “Upon arrival, heavy smoke was seen coming out of the upstairs attic. With only two firefighters on scene and two others approximately 10 minutes out, the call was made for mutual aid from the Breckenridge Fire Department as well as Baird VFD.”
Meanwhile, the two Albany VFD members on scene ran an attack line upstairs, charged the line, and prepared to access the attic space.
“Upon Breckenridge FD’s arrival, command was given to their chief to run the scene,” said Tischler. “Firefighters accessed the attic, ventilated, and extinguished the blaze with relatively little water damage. Once the scene was stabilized, Breckenridge and Baird were released and had to return to their respective bases of operation.”
Members of the Breckenridge FD faced another lightning strike problem before the day was over when a bolt downed a power line in Breckenridge.
The Albany fire chief said he was appreciative of all the help his department received while battling the house fire.
“I would like to express my thanks to the many citizens of Albany who showed up and assisted anywhere they could,” said Tischler. “Because of your response, we were able to contain the fire and isolate it to a minimal area. And many thanks to the Breckenridge fire department as well as Baird for your immediate response and professionalism on scene.”
Picquet also expressed thanks to the many people who came to her rescue.
“Thank you to the 911 call worker and the first responders,” she said. “They were all so professional and quick! The neighbors were all very helpful also, letting us borrow a ladder and offering good advice, especially those who used to serve on the fire department.”
Picquet said she was grateful that, by chance, she was home when the lightning struck and could call for help.
“When our house was constructed three years ago, our builder put in fire retardant spray insulation,” said Picquet. “That and the quick response of the fire department is what saved our house. The wood decking underneath the slate roof was charred, but didn’t blaze up.”
Although the smoldering fire was confined to the attic area and the water damage was minimal, the Picquets have a lot of smoke damage and a still unknown amount of electrical damage.
“We lost a couple of air conditioning units, and the rafters will have to be replaced,” said Picquet. “It looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was up there in the attic and charred and exploded.”
Most of the kitchen appliances survived, but the garbage disposal did not, and the pool equipment “got zapped.”
Electricians are checking the wiring, the clothes have all gone to the cleaners, and the fate of most of the furniture is not yet determined.
“It still smells like there is a campfire in there,” said Picquet. “I bet it’s Christmas before we are back in the house. And I feel sure that we’ll put in more lightning rods – really big ones.”
