By Kim Hilsenbeck
Lightning strikes are to blame for house fires early Saturday morning that left two Hays County families out in the cold as firefighters battled blazes in two different neighborhoods.
Buda Fire Department / Emergency Services District 8 responded to a call at 140 Dugout in the Whispering Hollow neighborhood at 1:15 a.m., according to Buda Fire Department (BFD) Assistant Fire Chief Gary Langshaw.
“It was raining and there was lightning,” he said.
Langshaw said the home’s second story roof was fully engulfed in flames when crews from BFD Stations 2 and 3 arrived. Austin Fire Department Station 36 and Kyle Fire Department/ESD 5 Station 2 also assisted in that call while a crew from the San Marcos Fire Department covered the Kyle area.
Buda Fire Marshal Mike Duffy said the cause of the fire appears to be a lightning strike to the home’s roof. The home belongs to Joyce and Will Schroers.
Bretagne (pronounced Brittney) Sammons, who lives in Whispering Hollow, said in a phone interview that she heard the lightning strike and it jolted her out of sleep. She said another friend, Wendi Hightower, who lives hear the Schroer’s home, called her. They both went over to the house that was on fire.
Langshaw said his team had just put out the first fire when they were dispatched at 2:34 a.m. to a second house fire, this time at 908 Bluebird Drive in the Chaparral Park neighborhood in Manchaca in the northeast part of Hays County.
“We had just put out first fire and were rehabbing personnel when we got the second call,” he said. “We were still in overhaul mode.”
Hays County Fire Marshal Mark Chambers was on scene at the fire in Chaparral Park and interviewed the homeowners, Jennifer and Sanford Gibbs.
“The homeowner heard a loud clap of thunder/lightning that shook him and his wife awake,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “Their smoke alarms went off soon after that.”
The couple investigated and discovered smoke and flames in their attic, according to Langshaw.
Langshaw said the one-story home was about 75 percent engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived at 2:50 a.m. Hays County 911 received the call at 2:31 a.m.
But due to the earlier fire, more personnel was needed.
“It was an exceptional night; we never have two house fires in the same night,” Langshaw said.
Fire crews from Buda’s Station 1 along with the Austin, San Marcos and Manchaca departments, as well as Emergency Medical Services from Buda and Austin-Travis County were on scene. North Hays County covered for Kyle.
“We had almost the whole county out that night,” Langshaw said.
Firefighters ran into some trouble with the fire hydrants in Chaparral Park (see companion story here). Langshaw said to conserve the available water, the fire suppression strategy was to stop the progression of the flames from reaching the part of the home that was not yet burning.
“We were successful in that effort,” he said.
Chambers ruled the cause of the fire on Bluebird a lightning strike. He was also made aware of the issue with a fire hydrant on Quail Drive, one street west of Bluebird.
Langshaw said when firefighters tried to pull water from the hydrant on Quail Drive, it was closed. There was no signage or indication that the unit was not working properly. Crews had to then go to a hydrant/flush valve on Mockingbird Drive to refill the tanks. The water system in Chaparral Park is owned by Aqua Texas. Spokesperson Gretchen Toner said the firm is unable to comment on the hydrant situation until an investigation is completed.
Fire crews continued battling the blaze for hours, finally leaving the scene at 7:20 a.m. They used between 15 and 20 thousand gallons of water, most of it from tanker trucks on scene.
Langshaw said there were no injuries from either fire.
“Roof fires are very difficult,” he said. “All the guys did a great job working all night.”
Sammons said the Schroers family is temporarily staying at a furnished home owned by Buda resident Jeff Coffee.
“He let them stay at his place for a week,” she said.
She added that Noah’s Ark Storage in Buda also donated a storage unit to the family while they are in flux.
Hightower and Sammons helped set up the Facebook page and GoFundMe account for the Schroers family. While home insurance should take care of much of the expenses, Sammons said other expenses may come up, for example having to board the family’s two dogs if they can’t find a rental home that allows pets.
“The community has responded so much,” Sammons said.
As of Monday, donations reached more than $5,600.
How can you help?
For the Schroers family of Whispering Hollow:
A GoFundMe account has been set up to receive online monetary donations through Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. Visit www.gofundme.com/schroersstrong to make an online donation. You can also visit the bank branch in Buda and use deposit account number 216514.
For the Gibbs family of Chaparral Park:
The family requested no funds or other donations at this time.
