Lightning strike sparks apartment fire in Brooksville, dozens displaced overnight: HCFR
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – Hernando County Fire Rescue crews rushed to an apartment complex in Brooksville on Tuesday after a suspected lightning strike sparked a fire inside a 24-unit building.
Brooksville apartment building fire
What we know:
Firefighters responded to the Authentix Suncoast apartment complex at 432 Coast Drive around 5:45 p.m. after receiving reports of a lightning strike.
Occupants reported smoke in multiple apartments and activated fire alarms.
Courtesy: Hernando County Fire Rescue
Crews arrived to find smoke inside several units of the 24-unit building.
Firefighters discovered flames trapped between the first and second floors of two apartments.
They knocked down the fire and brought it under control within 45 minutes of arriving, while evacuating the remaining 20 units.
Displaced residents
Dig deeper:
Four apartment units suffered fire, smoke or water damage.
Power was disconnected to the entire building, displacing dozens of other occupants overnight.
Out of the 24 total units in the building, 21 were occupied at the time of the fire.
Fire cause investigation ongoing
What we don’t know:
Courtesy: Hernando County Fire Rescue
Officials believe a lightning strike caused the fire, but the official investigation remains ongoing.
It is not yet clear when power will be restored to the building or when residents in unaffected units can return home.
Overnight housing
What’s next:
No civilians or firefighters were injured.
Management at Authentix Suncoast is working with displaced residents to provide overnight housing until they can safely return to unaffected units.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Hernando County Fire Rescue, who provided details about the response, damage, displacement and ongoing investigation.