CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Lightning in Chesterfield caused three structure fires to erupt on Tuesday evening, severely burning the roof of one of the houses that was struck.
Chesterfield Fire told 8News that there have now been four lightning strike–related fires over the last week. Three of those fires took place on Tuesday, July 26 — one fire was located on Belmont Road, where a shed caught fire, another happened at a house on Brickhaven Drive and displaced two people, and a third fire occurred on Manassas Drive.
“I was like, ‘uh-oh, it looks like a storm’s brewing,’” said Clint Hersey, a Chesterfield resident who was selling pest control near the scene of the fire on Brickhaven Drive.
Hersey took shelter on a neighbor’s porch after the rain and thunderstorms became more severe in the area. He said that’s when he heard a ‘really loud boom.’
“We heard one that sounded like it was right on top of us,” Hersey said, adding, “It was loud. It lit up the whole sky with lightning and then you heard the thunder, and you’re like, ‘jeez I hope no one got hurt.’”
Turns out, Hersey had heard what Chesterfield Fire said was lightning hitting the house on Brickhaven Drive.
According to Chesterfield Fire, crews responded to the 4900 block of Brickhaven Drive at around 7 p.m. for a reported residential house fire. Luckily, there was no one inside the house at the time of the fire.
There’s a saying that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but in Chesterfield, this happened four times over the last week.
8News reported on another lightning strike on July 21 that damaged the roof of a couple’s residence, causing the ceiling to cave in.
Hersey said he is saddened for the family who lived in the house on Brickhaven Drive, and added that he hopes they keep moving forward.
“I’m sorry — life doesn’t always turn out the way we want it but hopefully they can rebuild, build better and hopefully keep pushing on,” he said.
According to Chesterfield Fire, lightning does tend to strike at taller objects. The department advises residents to install a working smoke detector in their homes to alert them to these kinds of instances, as it can be the difference between life and death.
