SNELLVILLE — Lightning is being blamed for a fire Wednesday evening at a home in Snellville that killed a pet cat.
Gwinnett County fire units were dispatched at 4:46 p.m. to a report of a house fire on the on Amy Road in Snellville. The caller said a house was on fire with smoke showing.
The caller said everyone was out of the house.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a two-story, split-level, single-family dwelling with heavy fire moving from the basement-level garage up the exterior of the structure.
Firefighters met with the homeowner, who confirmed everyone was outside the house. She could not find her three cats. Fire crews deployed two 1 ¾ – inch attack lines to knock down the fire before advancing into the structure for a search.
Completion of primary and secondary searches confirmed that there were no people inside the structure, however one cat was found dead. During the search, firefighters identified a compromised floor system on a corner of the house. The finding was communicated to all fire crews.
There were no injuries reported during this incident.
The homeowner told firefighters she heard a loud “pop” after it began to rain. She began to investigate for evidence of a lightning strike when she observed smoke coming from her garage. The homeowner then called 911.
Fire crews on scene determined the cause of the fire to be a lightning strike from a recent storm. All firefighters rotated through rehab before returning to service.
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