During the thunderstorm that hit Collin County on Tuesday, May 30, several houses in Frisco and Carrollton were hit by lightning, causing three homes to catch on fire, with at least two structures badly damaged.
According to an official statement from Frisco Fire Department, at around 3:00 p.m., while a crew was fighting a fire at the 7100 block of Old Province Way, firefighters discovered another house burning just across the street in the 7100 block of Silverbrook Lane. By 3:30 p.m. the department was notified of an additional house catching fire two miles north in the 3500 block of Norwich Lane.
Fox4 spoke with the homeowner of the house at Norwich Lane, who was at home with a friend when the lightning struck. “It’s a sound I’ve never heard, but when you hear it, you know your house has been hit by lightning,” Kelly Mallory said. “Thankfully, I got the dogs and got out and the fire department was so quick.”
Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner from the Frisco Fire Department told Fox4 the homes at Old Province Way and Silverbrook Lane are uninhabitable. Additionally, six other buildings were struck by lightning during the storm, although there was no fire or damage to these properties.
"We are thankful for good neighbors and the fire service between Little Elm, The Colony, Plano and others who came in and either helped with one of the structure fires and who backfilled our station so the citizens of Frisco were still taken care of," said Kistner.
Fortunately, no residents suffered injuries from the fire but WFAA reported a firefighter suffered a non-life-threatening injury while battling the fire at Silverbrook Lane and had to be hospitalized, while another crew member had to be treated for heat exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Carrollton Fire Department responded to four fire reports, two of which were working fire at the time, according to WFAA. The Fire Department also reported that in those two incidents, the fires were contained to the attic.