Crews respond to Country Way fire caused by lightning strike

All photos courtesy Alachua County Fire Rescue and High Springs Fire Department

Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At about 5:41 p.m. this afternoon, crews from Alachua County Fire Rescue, High Springs Fire Department, and Newberry Fire Department responded to reports of a fire in a residential building in the Country Way development in Newberry. Callers reported that lightning had hit the roof of one of the buildings, and the first-arriving unit found fire and smoke coming from the roof of a three-story building.

More crews arrived, and an aggressive interior fire attack was initiated, bringing the fire under control quickly with damage limited to the apartment where it started.

Five families were displaced because of the fire, but no injuries were reported. The fire is under investigation by the Alachua County Fire Marshal’s office.

  • Great job by fire departments for getting the fire out quickly. It’s to bad that it affected five families. No one hurt is always good.

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