Lightning strike hits trees, gas line before sending Brevard house up in flames

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    BREVARD, North Carolina (WLOS) — Lightning is to blame for a house fire in Brevard, but the strike didn’t directly hit the home, according to the Brevard Fire Department and Transylvania County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Fire Chief Bobby Cooper said the lightning struck two trees in the backyard, then traveled underground where it hit a gas line under the home on Mary Shipman Drive.

“The gas line is a common place for them to run,” Cooper said.

The yellow corrugated stainless-steel tubing (CSST) is notorious for starting fires after a lightning strike, Cooper said.

“Most places don’t use [CSST] anymore; there are better alternatives out there that prevent that type of fire from happening,” Cooper said. “I would check with your gas companies and make sure you’ve got the right stuff. They can change it out if need be.”

Cooper was one of the first people on scene, early Tuesday morning, second only to the person who saw the smoke and called it in – that person happened to be one of their own, Cooper said.

“One of our dispatchers had just gotten off shift and was on the way home and saw smoke coming out of the roof of the house,” Cooper said. “We had smoke coming out of the eaves, coming out of the attic. Once we got the front door open, we found that there was a hole in the floor going into the basement.”

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The homeowner told News 13’s Hannah Mackenzie over the phone it is a renal house, and his tenant was out of state at the time. He said the tenant was scheduled to fly back to North Carolina on Wednesday evening, and she lost pretty much everything inside the home.

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