The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and Arlington County Fire Department dispatched units on May 26 at 8:40 p.m. to a reported house fire in the 7700 block of Virginia Lane, in the Idylwood area near Falls Church.
Units arrived at the one-and-a-half-story, single-family home and found light smoke coming from the attic. As personnel ascended the interior stairs to gain access to the attic, fire began to show from the roof. Crews quickly brought the fire under control and extinguished it. There were no reported civilian or firefighter injuries.
Two occupants were home at the time of the fire. The occupants were in an upstairs bedroom when they saw lightning, heard a loud boom and then smelled smoke. Both occupants evacuated the home and called 911. Smoke alarms did not sound because of the fire’s location, officials said.
Fire investigators determined a lightning strike started the fire on the home’s exterior.
The two occupants were displaced because of the fire, but declined assistance offered by the Red Cross. The fire caused about $42,500 worth of damage.