Overnight Gwinnett Lightning Strikes Hit Home, Apartment Building

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Lightning from overnight storms caused a house fire in Dacula and an apartment fire in Buford, according to the Gwinnett Fire Department. There were no injuries reported in either fire.

A mother and three children were at their home, located in the 3300 block of Ridgemill Circle, and reported hearing a loud boom and the house shook. The woman was on the phone with her husband at the time and said that the cable TV went out. She went upstairs and discovered smoke filling the second floor of the home.

The mother and the three children escaped unharmed and there were no injuries reported. The family sought refuge at a neighbor’s house across the street as firefighters worked to put the flames out during a strong thunderstorm.

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Firefighters found flames coming from the roof over the front-left side of the two-story, wood-frame house when they arrived. Firefighters quickly deployed fire attack hose lines and worked fast to bring the fire under control. The fire burned a hole in the roof over a bedroom and caused extensive damage. It appears that lightning may have hit the side of the home and traveled in via a utility line, according to fire officials.

Firefighters responded at 5:43 p.m., to a report of an apartment fire in the 1500 block of Laurel Crossing Parkway, NE in Buford after a 911 caller reported a fire on the side of the building. Bystanders attempted to douse the flames with a portable fire extinguisher before the fire trucks arrived.

Crews found a small fire coming from the exterior-siding between two dryer vents on the outside of the building. Firefighters quickly deployed an attack hose line to extinguish the fire and made immediate entry inside two apartment units to check for extension. The fire was contained to the exterior wall and part of the floor system in one apartment unit, according to fire officials. Firefighters had to pull part of the sheetrock material inside the affected apartment to check for extension and to make sure the fire was completely out. The damage was considered moderate.

According to fire officials, the blaze was sparked by a lightning strike to the vent pipe on the side of the building during a strong thunderstorm. The occupants were displaced from the damaged unit, but declined Red Cross assistance.

Photos courtesy Gwinnett Fire Department