Lightning sparks house fire in Lawrenceville

By Larry Hartstein and Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A lightning strike to electrical components caused an early morning fire at a Lawrenceville house, but two adults and two children got out unharmed, Gwinnett County fire officials said.

It was the fifth blaze attributed to lightning in two days in Gwinnett.

The fire broke out just before 3 a.m. Sunday in the attic of a two-story wood frame house on Sydney Crest Lane. The residents woke to a strong rubber smell and electrical odor.

"The fire appears to be the result of a lightning strike to electrical components of the home from earlier in th evening," Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said, noting a strong thunderstorm passed through the area around 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The residents were not home at the time of the storm, but told firefighters they detected "a faint electrical odor" when they returned. They checked the house and the electrical panel box before going to sleep, and there were no signs of smoke or fire.

But flames were shooting through the attic when firefighters arrived. Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the rest of the house. The fire caused moderate damage to the attic and an exterior wall and sent smoke throughout the house.

The family planned to stay with relatives.

No one was home when a Buford house apparently was struck by lightning Saturday night.

Firefighters arrived at the scene to find moderate smoke from the two-story home on Biltmore Woods Drive, Rutledge said.

Firefighters contained the fire to an exterior wall near the garage, Rutledge said.

Lightning is also believed to have been the cause of three house fires Friday night in Gwinnett.

During a 30-minute span, firefighters were called to two homes in Lawrenceville and one in Dacula, Rutledge said. Two firefighters were injured, but both are expected to be fine, he said.