The Herald-News - News Story

Storm starts fire Sunday: Second blaze reportedly started by child playing with matches

Firefighters battled two blazes in the midst of heavy storms Sunday.

A bolt of lighting is believed to have started one of the fires.

No one was seriously injured in either fire, but one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion and the owner of one of the homes drove himself to Rhea Medical Center after tripping on his front porch steps while exiting his home, according to Rhea County Fire Department Assistant Chief Chuck Kinney.

The first blaze ignited around 6 p.m. at John Ross Road in Spring City.

Kinney said it appears to have started when lightning struck the phone system of Glenn and Myrtle Eldridge's home. An outlet ignited with the lightning strike, which set wall paneling around the outlet ablaze.

"With the physical evidence discovered as well as the statement of the witnesses, this fire appears to be an accidental fire with the heat source being electrical in nature," Kinney stated in an incident report.

No one was home when the fire started, but the Eldridges' youngest son was next door and saw the fire start.

Kinney said the home suffered "extensive" fire, smoke and water damage, but several personal items were salvaged. One firefighter had to be treated for heat exhaustion at the scene, Kinney said.

The home was insured, and Kinney said the Red Cross has been contacted.

The second fire happened at Hidden Hills Drive in Dayton at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire before major damage was done, Kinney said, but Thomas Patton, the homeowner, did trip down the stairs as he fled. He was able to drive himself to the emergency room, according to Kinney.

He said in a report that Patton's 12-year-old stepson admitted to accidentally setting the fire while he was playing with matches.

"The intent was not to burn the house down, but to only play with matches," Kinney said.

The boy saw a pack of matches in his brother's bedroom and set a shirt in the closet on fire, Kinney said.

Damage was only minor, according to Kinney, and the home was insured.

Michael Reneau can be contacted at michael.reneau@rheaheraldnews.com.