Updated: Fire Rips Through House During Early Morning Thunderstorm

UPDATED — Fire officials in Prince William County say the fire at a home on Bradley Forest Road early Tuesday morning was caused by a lightning strike.

Here’s the latest information in a press release:

On Monday, June 16th at approximately 12:30 a.m., fire and rescue units were dispatched to a structure fire in a two story single family home located in the 12000 block of Bradley Forest Road in Manassas.

Upon arrival, fire and rescue units found smoke showing from the roof of the home. Firefighters quickly advanced attack lines to extinguish the fire but not before the fire had spread throughout the attic area causing severe fire damage to the home. No fire hydrants were located in this community so fire and rescue units utilized rural water supply operations to shuttle water to the area to maintain a firefighting water supply.

No reported injuries.

Red Cross was called to the scene to assist 2 adults and 1 child displaced by the fire.

A Building Official inspected the residence and posted the building unsafe.

According to the Fire Marshal’s Office, the home sustained approximately $200,000 in damages. The fire, caused by lightning, has been determined accidental.

Original post:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — A house in a rural area outside Manassas caught fire early this morning as a large thunderstorm was moving through the area.

Fire and rescue crews were called to a single-family home in the 12000 block of Bradley Forest Road just off Brentsville Road near Manassas. Flames were showing on two sides of the house when fire crews arrived, according to initial reports.

The blaze was eventually put out but it did major damage to the home, and the American Red Cross was called in to help the occupants of the home, according to initial reports. Prince William County fire officials have yet to issue a statement on this fire so we don’t yet know if there were any injuries associated with the blaze.

A hole could be seen in the roof of the home and some of the exterior walls of the home were charred.

Neighbors said fire crews from across Prince William County, including units from Dale City, Lake Jackson, and from the City of Manassas, were called in to help put out the fire.

A neighbor called 911 to report the fire.

“My husband happened to look out the window for some reason and he says ‘house on fire,’” said Katherine Hanback, a neighbor.

There was foam lying on Bradley Forest Road and in two front lawns of houses that sit along the street. about 8:30 a.m. A grandmother sitting on the front stoop of her home waiting for school bus to pick up her grandchildren said the foam was left behind by emergency workers who used it to douse the blaze.

The cause of the fire is not clear at this point. An isolated thunderstorm containing lots of lightning, wind, and rain was moving through the area about 12:30 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm warning was never issued by the National Weather Service, but the weather service was tracking the storm and issued a special weather statement warning residents of Montclair and Triangle to watch out as the storm was moving through.