Effingham County family displaced after fire tears through home

by Julianne Sheehan

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - An Effingham County family is rebuilding after a fire tore through their home Sunday afternoon. The Effingham County Fire Department says it suspects a bolt of lightning struck the house, causing the fire.

Effingham and Rincon fire crews responded to the Ebenezer area shortly after 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Neighbors say smoke was billowing into the sky and flames were shooting out the side of the house. One neighbor captured video of the moment lightning struck, likely sparking the flame.

Neighbors react to the fire

James Long and his wife were sitting on their couch two doors down when they heard a bang and saw a flash of white. A few minutes later, they smelled something burning.

“So I came out and looked and I saw the smoke coming from this house over here and I went, ‘Oh my God the neighbors house is on fire,’” said James Long, neighbor.

Long ran over to the home and banged on the door. The homeowner had made it downstairs, and another neighbor was at the top of the stairs with a fire extinguisher. Long had his own larger extinguisher and offered help.

“He said, oh yeah please, so I ran back over here grabbed my extinguisher and by the time I got back over there he had already expelled his fire extinguisher, he said it didn’t do any good whatsoever,” Long said.

Neighbors say within minutes the Effingham County Fire Department was on scene working to knock down the flames.

Neighbors check on nearby homes

Once everyone was out of the house, Long and the others went next door.

“We went to the neighbor’s house next door and knocked to make sure they got out because it looked like the fire could have actually worked its way over there,” Long said.

Crews battled the flames, with rain helping to contain the spread. No one was injured during the fire.

“This was a lightning strike, and it happened out of nowhere, it could have happened to anybody’s house,” Long said.