By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A bolt of lightning from Monday's thunderstorm sparked a fire that damaged a Peachtree City home in the Braelinn Green subdivision, according to fire officials.

Acting Fire Chief Stony Lohr said witnesses in the area reported “their hair standing up on end” moments before the lightning struck the home at 223 Valley View. One witness actually saw the lightning strike the structure, Lohr added.

No one was home at the time of the incident and no one else was struck by the lightning, Lohr said. The attic was damaged heavily by fire, but the living area was damaged by water and smoke, the chief added.

One firefighter was injured when the ceiling collapsed without warning on four firefighters who were battling the blaze, Lohr said. The firefighters were able to dig their way out of the debris, but the injured man suffered a severe ankle sprain, Lohr added.

“It's the kind of danger we face every time we go into a fire,” Lohr said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Two people were living at the home, but their names were not available Tuesday morning.

The blaze was one of several calls that Peachtree City fire and rescue units responded to during the storm, Lohr said. The other major call was a one-car auto accident near the fire scene on Peachtree Parkway near the entrance to K-Mart.

Both the driver and the one passenger in the vehicle were taken to Fayette Community Hospital, Lohr said. The driver of the vehicle, a 16-year-old juvenile, is an Explorer Scout with the fire department, said Chief Stony Lohr.

According to an accident report from the Peachtree City Police Department, the 88 Toyota Camry was headed north on the parkway as the driver was responding to the fire. Maj. Mike DuPree said the vehicle hydroplaned and struck a tree in the median, causing the vehicle to flip upside down.

A passenger in the vehicle, a 15-year-old juvenile, was injured in the accident and taken to Fayette Community Hospital, DuPree said. The driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions, DuPree said.

The other incidents that happened at essentially the same time were:

ä Smoke was reported at the K-Mart, though it turned out to be coming from the Braelinn Green fire.

ä Smoke was reported at Blockbuster Video, which came from an electrical problem.

ä A fire alarm was reported at the Peachtree City Library, but it was determined that it was set off after the library lost power briefly.

Though the incidents were confined to one area of town, response was difficult because of the flooding-type weather conditions brought on by the storm, Lohr added.