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Three Rivers Apartment Building Burns After Lightning Strike

Posted at 2:19 PM, Jun 18, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-18 22:54:44-04

THREE RIVERS1THREE RIVERS, Mich. – (June 18, 2014) – Several residents of an apartment complex in St. Joseph County are staying elsewhere tonight after a fire at their building.

Firefighters from Fabian Park and Three Rivers in St. Joseph County responded to the scene of an apartment fire in Three Rivers.

A fire captain told FOX 17 the building was struck by lightning.

“It was only the south side of the complex,” said Capt. Jeff Bloomfield. “The fire stops in the attic did their job, held that fire at bay.”

The building has been evacuated and no injuries have been reported. Even pets made it out safely.

“It was smokey earlier when I went to retrieve our pet,” said John Butler. “I didn’t waste any time. Of course, it was raining too, so I just went in and retrieved the dog and came back out and the fire trucks were starting to come in.”

Residents are being kept out of the building tonight while firefighters monitor hot spots.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the 200 block of Heather Lane at the Bent Waters Apartments after a report of a fire from a possible lightning strike.

It is not clear how much damage the fire caused, but flames were limited to the attic.

“Everything seems to be fine in my unit, except for the people across from us,” said Jennifer Miller. “Other than that, they’re just gonna have to repair things.”

Some units have water and smoke damage.