Fighting Structural Fires During Lightning Storms

By MICHAEL J. BARAKEY

On March 29, 2016, three Boca Raton, Florida, firefighters were injured after lightning struck near them while working a house fire that was ignited by lightning.1 “They werebending over to bring the water hose from the back of the house to the truck, and that’s all they remember,” recalls Boca Raton Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Mike Lasalle. “We’re not sure if it hit them or the ground first; but, in my opinion, it must have hit near them. Direct hits usually end badly.” Two of the firefighters’ injuries were considered minor, Lasalle says, but the third firefighter was treated for more serious injuries at a local hospital. (1)

Lightning strikes cause many fires in the United States every year. During the period from 2007 to 2011, U.S. fire departments responded to an annual average of 22,600 fires started by lightning.2 During this time period, 4,300 of the fires were classified as home structural fires. Although home structural fires were only 19 percent of the total fires, they were responsible for 86 percent of the civilian fire deaths, 76 percent of the civilian fire injuries, and 68 percent of the direct property damage. (2) From 2003 to 2013, four of the 42 firefighters who died as a result of a fire caused by lightning were operating at structure fires. The other 38 died on wildland fires. (2) The National Weather Service reports that from 2008 to 2012, an average of 29 people died per year from lightning strikes.3