Here's What Arlington Firefighters Were Doing During Last Night's Storm

Last night’s vicious storm wreaked havoc on the Washington, D.C. area, pounding the region with rain and wind and causing widespread power outages and flooding -- and Arlington firefighters had their work cut out for them keeping residents safe.

The same storm that spawned a tornado in southeastern Virginia that killed two adults and an infant roared through Arlington and the rest of the region last night right around rush hour, knocking out power for 10,000 homes and businesses and placing the whole area under a tornado watch, according to a Washington Post report.

Fortunately, no tornado ever arrived in the area, but flooding and lightning strikes had Arlington firefighters busy, as you can tell from their Twitter feed.

First, there were reports of hail in Falls Church, an ominous harbinger of tornadoes:

Then came reports of an adult and four children stuck in a minivan up in northern Arlington. The fire department sent Swiftwater Rescue to Chesterbrook Road and North Albemarle Street -- an area situated near a swollen Pimmit Run -- warning everyone to “avoid the area.” Fortunately, they reported that they were able to safely remove the driver and the children from the minivan stuck in the high water.

They also rushed to the scene of lightning strike in Virginia Square: