Lightning strike may have caused fire at Jefferson Hills home

A Jefferson Hills family whose house caught on fire early Tuesday morning blamed the blaze on a lightning strike they say hit their home.

Georgia Biagini, who owns the house on the 300 block of Greene Street, said she believed lightning started the fire. She declined further comment.

A portion of the roof appeared to be damaged Tuesday morning.

Storms were recorded throughout the region early Tuesday morning, meaning a lightning strike would be a likely culprit for the fire, National Weather Service Meteorologist Lee Hendricks.

“There was lightning activity all across Western Pennsylvania for the last 12 hours, so it’s definitely possible,” he said. “That is not anything that would be entirely surprising.”

Firefighters got the fire under control in a matter of minutes, according to Trib news partner WPXI.

Family says lightning struck South Hills home, starting fire. https://t.co/S2KJapIQ9i pic.twitter.com/jPa83q2P6M

— WPXI (@WPXI) July 13, 2021

Officials are investigating whether lightning started the fire, as the homeowners believe.

“Right now, we’re looking into the possible weather related incident,” Justin Allan, Jefferson Hills Fire and Rescue assistant chief, told WPXI. “It’s still an active investigation, so I don’t have any information on that right now. That’ll come from the National Weather Service and the Fire Marshal’s office.”

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating the official cause of the fire.

Tree struck in Plum

A suspected lightning strike split open the trunk of a tree at Gina Burris’ home on Aspen Drive in Willow Village in Plum, atop a hill off of Saltsburg Road. No property was damaged and no one was hurt.

Burris said she first smelled wood burning while reading on her back patio, but didn’t pay much attention to it. Later, around 7:20 a.m., she heard crackling from the woods behind her house, saw the smoke and flames high up in the tall the tree and called 911.

A tree behind a home in Willow Village in Plum was on fire after being hit by lightning during the storm early this morning. Firefighters came to put it out. pic.twitter.com/SRDrd0Vyzm

— Brian Rittmeyer (@BCRittmeyer) July 13, 2021

Burris said the earlier storm, which came through between 4 and 5 a.m., awakened her and her husband.

“We heard a loud crack. I saw the flash of lightning as I was sleeping. The flash woke me up before the sound did, then I heard the sound,” she said. “It was a big enough boom that it rattled the house and knocked a few items off the shelves in the bedroom.”

Firefighters from Holiday Park in Plum and Monroeville responded and put the fire out. The tree, on the property line with a cemetery, would have to be checked, Burris said.

“I’ve heard plenty of lighting storms,” she said. “That crack, I never heard a crack of thunder that loud. Obviously, it was the lightning bolt that hit the tree. It was extremely loud. That wasn’t your normal thunder and lightning.”

Holiday Park fire Chief Jim Simms describes the call they had in Willow Village this morning. pic.twitter.com/iKzwCDLmN6

— Brian Rittmeyer (@BCRittmeyer) July 13, 2021

Burris was grateful her home was not struck.

“Had I not gone outside, I probably would’ve never noticed the tree was on fire,” she said. “Everything happens for a reason and by God’s grace everything worked out just fine.”