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Lightning strike displaces 13 people in Farmington

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Firefighters stage outside of a burning building at Blueberry Hill Apartments Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters stage outside of a burning building at Blueberry Hill Apartments Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters attack the fire from above.
Firefighters attack the fire from above.

FARMINGTON – Another structure fire caused by lightning drew more than 40 firefighters from across the county Wednesday evening, displacing 13 people from four apartments.

According to Deputy Chief Clyde Ross, dispatchers received an emergency call at 4:48 p.m. from the Blueberry Hill Apartments housing project, located off of North Street.

At that time, Farmington Fire Rescue and other departments were responding to Walmart on the Wilton Road, after receiving reports of a lightning strike and smoke coming off the store. The first rescue unit arrived at Blueberry Hill Apartments at 5:05 p.m.

An apparent lightning strike, the product of a powerful storm that swept through the region Wednesday afternoon, had caused a fire above Apartment 18, one of four in the building. Forty-one firefighters and first responders with NorthStar EMS and Farmington Police Department were at the scene after mutual aid was called for. Firefighters attacked the fire with water from a nearby hydrant with Tower 3 and hand lines inside the structure.

No one was hurt in the blaze, which was generally confined to the ceiling and roof. The structure’s roof sustained significant damage, Ross said, with other, adjacent apartments assuming some smoke and water damage.

Thirteen residents were displaced by the fire, Ross said, noting the building’s power had been disconnected. The American Red Cross had been contacted to assist the occupants.

The structure fire is the second this month caused by a lightning strike in Farmington. The first was on July 2 on Morrison Hill Road, in which a small home sustained extensive damage. In both cases, firefighters were dealing with multiple, nearly simultaneous reports of lightning strikes.

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17 Comments

  1. I am one of the thirteen people that had to leave our homes. The fire fighters were excellent! When we finally were allowed back in to grab a few personal items, I expected the worst! To my surprise they had moved my belongings away from the wall were the water was coming in and covered them with plastic. Above and beyond in my book! There was a chaplain there who did a super job of making sure that the tenants affected were looked after and kept informed. The landlord was there in a snap and very involved in taking care of what he could at the moment. We are safe! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Wow! Thank you wonderful firefighters, great landlord and chaplain! Glad everyone is safe!

  3. Thank You Jane Doe. I am pleased to see the first words said are those of praise. It seems these forums are used too much for tearing people down lately. It is so good to hear what an amazing group our local EMS are. They put their lives on the line to save others. They leave their families at a moments notice to come help ours. We live in a special community. Thank you to all of the EMS and other folks that take care of us here.

  4. I so agree with Wilton Mom. Give these people the credit they deserve. And with all the other incidents going on right then; they did their very best to get there ASAP. Thank you to all and I too am glad all are safe.

  5. My wife and I saw the numerous trucks come up the road by our house, but didn’t know exactly what had happened. So glad that everyone is safe, and our thoughts are with you.

  6. GAWKERS!
    There have been over a hundred cars since pre dawn-that have driven the blueberry hill parking lot to see the building that was hit by lightning.
    I understand everyones curiousity but this is not a public.road. it is a private cul-de-sac. Please respect our home.
    There is no burnt out house or charred bodies to see—-stay home!

  7. AugustWest… Farmington was dispatched to Walmart first before the Blueberry Hill Apt. fire was called in. Thus they had to reroute fire apparatus from Walmart. Plus Industry Fire Dept responded to the Blueberry Hill Appt complex by the request of Farmington Fire Dept. It takes a minimum of 10-12 minutes for our equipment from Industry to get to That address. Thus from the time we in Industry got the call, drove to the Fire Station, suited up, got in our equipment and drove to Blueberry Hill Appts 17 minutes is a very good response time! ALSO understand that when Farmington Fire Depts equipment has been dispatched to the other side of town first, i.e. Walmart, It takes at least 8-10 minutes to send equipment back! All in all I think that they did an exceptional job responding to numerous fire calls within minutes of each other. So next time you want to jump on a Fire Dept for not responding quick enough you might want to realize that there is much more to it than guys jumping into equipment and driving to the fire scene. People have to drive from their place of work, or home, to get to the Fire Station first! The common misperception among people is that the Fire Depts are manned 24/7. If they are it is just a skeleton crew. The rest of us are volunteer…

  8. AugustWest when something happens in town everyone is affected and need to process the event in their own way. Driving by is one way people might do that and those same people driving by might also be people who have or will lend a hand to those in need.

  9. Those who complain are usually the ones who dont like to pay taxes and always vote to cut the rescources of our first responders. Perhaps you could volunteer to help,”Mr. West”?

  10. Thank you Philip for clarifying it all.. I would really stress that it is mainly VOLUNTEER run. Which leaves me in awe.

    It says wonders about what an amazing community we live in. An incredible amount of thanks is due to the brave men and women that drop everything to keep us safe. Community involvement is critical to maintaining our wonderful little Farmington Town. Well done. Thank you Jane for sharing.

  11. When awaiting any emergency crew, time drags by and seems to take forever for fire, rescue, doctor, police or whatever. I was near town at the time of the fire and heard all the emergency vehicles in the county being dispatched and ti sounded like they were back and forth. I’m surprised they weren’t confused to near paralysis by all the simultaneous incidents. Often people who don’t know about jobs like police, fire, ambulance etc., don’t understand protocol, or what it takes to field the crew. For the fire brigade to come out and deal withthings with lightening and rain pouring all around, that’s heroic. Well done.

  12. Thank you, Philip balsam, for educating AugustWest on the 17 minute response time. Unfortunately, there will always be complainers. Thank you, too, for your volunteer service. Great job to all the emergency responders on that crazy, hectic day. Respect.

  13. There are not enough words to thank the men and women who risk their lives every day to help us. I know when something bad is happening it DOES seem like forever. 17 minutes is AMAZING ! Something the fire department should be very proud of. Especially with everything that was going on all at once. Praise to you all. Thank you for all that you do ! !

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