One home was totally destroyed and the other heavily damaged in two separate fires Saturday afternoon that were sparked by lightning strikes from a rough thunderstorm, officials said.
No one was hurt in either fire, according to Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. But they caused such a manpower crunch that off-duty firefighters were called in to staff two engines while numerous crews responded to both fires and to other fire alarms set off in the county by the storm, Nelms added.

The first blaze was reported at 3:55 p.m. at 244 Bankstown Rd. in Brooks.

The fire was aided by a quick start from an “intense” lighting strike, which factored into why the house couldn’t be saved by firefighters despite the first crew arriving just six minutes after being dispatched, Nelms added.
The house was well off the road and was “very, very large,” Nelms said.

The fire caused approximately $600,000 in damage, Nelms said.

The second fire was at 120 Winona Way, with the call coming in at 4:31. Crews were on scene eight minutes later but the blaze still caused a significant amount of damage, estimated at $200,000, Nelms said.

The American Red Cross was called in and provided disaster assistance to that family including shelter, Nelms noted.

In addition to calling in the backup crews to be on standby, the Fayetteville Fire Department assisted in battling the fires, and that help was much appreciated, Nelms said.

The storm featured heavy lighting that set off false fire alarms throughout the county, as fire crews had to respond to multiple locations in a short time frame, Nelms added.

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