Incident # 25-05410 - A Johnsville Community home was heavily damaged by a fire Wednesday afternoon 09-July. At 17:58, the homeowner in the 1400 block of Johnsville Road, called 9-1-1 advising his house was on fire with flames visible from the rear of the structure. Engine 7 arrived minutes later to find heavy fire and smoke showing from the single story wood frame structure. Crews deployed two hand lines to the building to combat the fire. The flames had already breached the ceiling and traveled through the attic. The occupant had already safely exited the building. He received burns to the arms in attempts to extinguish the fire prior to the arrival of Engine 7. The man was treated at the scene, but denied ambulance transport to the hospital. The incident occurred during a severe thunderstorm. Crews worked for about 25 minutes to control the fire in near zero visibility due to rain. They were on the scene for three hours performing overhaul. The homeowner advised he was in the front of the home when it was struck by lightning. There was a brief power outage, but things seemed normal when the power was restored. A short time later he heard noises in the back of the house and discovered the flames. The home suffered substantial damage and the occupant was displaced. The Red Cross is assisting the man.
Engine 7, Engine 18, Engine 26, Tender 7, Tender 17, Tender 18, Tender 26, Medic 7, Medic 18, and Battalion 1 responded. Battalion Chief Chris Jones served as Incident Commander.
