Staff report
A Landis fire engine responding to a house fire on Old Beatty Ford Road around 9 p.m. Wednesday was involved in a wreck.
Initial dispatches reported an accident with injuries at the intersection of U.S. 29 and Old Beatty Ford Road (Ryder Street) in Landis.
A 911 operator later said no ambulance was dispatched to the scene.
The Landis unit was responding to assist Bostian Heights and Rockwell with a fire at 6240 Old Beatty Ford Road where lightning reportedly struck the house.
The call came as a severe thunderstorm moved across the county.
Mike Zimmerman, chief of the Bostian Heights Fire Department, said lightning struck a utility trunk line, then ran into the house, generating smoke inside the house. It also set fire to mulch outside the brick home of Donald and Kim Kirk.
Zimmerman said Kim Kirk was at home when the lightning ran in. She was not injured.
Fire units responding to the scene encountered at least one tree across a portion of Shuping Mill Road.
About the same time Wednesday evening, Union firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at 220 Dream Lane off Goodman Lake Road.
A caller to 911 reported heavy smoke coming from the residence.
Emergency radio traffic indicated firefighters found a fire outside the house, with no fire in the structure.