Lightning strikes thrice; Bluffton firefighters battle once-in-a-decade series of calls

Bluffton firefighters responded to three lightning-sparked house fires in an hour during Friday’s severe thunderstorm.

It’s the busiest night they’ve had in over a decade, according to spokesperson Stephen Combs. “To my knowledge, we’ve not had to respond to three fires in one night, let alone, you know, three fires in one hour,” he said.

• The first was in Sun City on Lake Somerset Circle with fire crews called to the home around 5:30 p.m. Lightning struck a gas line, causing significant damage to the home’s roof and attic. The occupant of the home was unaware of the fire until his smoke alarm went off.
• The next call came in around 5:50 p.m. for a home in Barton’s run on Fox Chase Lane. The damage to that property was described as minor
• The final call came in around 6:30 p.m. for a home at the Landings at New Riverside on Breakwater Court. Similar to the Sun City fire, this one was also sourced to lightning striking a gas line but this time the fire was isolated to the home’s garage. Because the home had metal roofing, the fire was unable to spread further, according to Combs.

No one was injured in any of the fires. “One of the keys in all these situations is the fact that they had smoke alarms that were operational,” Combs said.

It seems counter-intuitive, but fires can be tricky during thunderstorms. “One of the things that you have to understand about fire is it could travel in the walls, it can be up in the attic, and it could be pouring rain outside, having no effect on extinguishing that fire,” Combs said.