Lightning suspected cause of apartment fire

Lightning may have caused an electrical fire Monday morning in at least one Texarkana, Ark., apartment building, which temporarily displaced several residents.

Arkansas-side firefighters responded to an electrical fire at the Beacon Point apartment complex in the 2300 block of Arkansas Boulevard about 7:25 a.m. Monday, said Arkansas-side Fire Marshal Stephen Johnson.

Johnson said that once units arrived on the scene, firefighters cut their way into the wall area containing burning electrical wiring and extinguished the fire, which was on the first floor of the two-story apartment building.

The building contained eight living

units—seven of which were occupied. He added that the building received some minimal smoke and water damage, but no residents were killed or injured.

While at the scene, firefighters received information on another building possibly being struck by lightning. However, neither building showed any evidence of a direct hit by lightning, although lightning may have struck nearby, causing the electrical system in the burning building to “over-energize,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that the eightunit apartment building’s electrical wiring system did receive extensive damage from the apparent “over-energizing.”

Beacon Point Property Manager Betty Barksdale said the fire temporarily displaced at least nine people, but she added that the local American Red Cross distributed emergency vouchers and credit cards to enable families temporarily displaced by the damage to either stay at local motels or move to other apartment units within Beacon Point.

The wood-frame apartment building damaged by the fire was built in about the mid1980s, Barksdale said.