Lightning Strike Sparks Fire Wednesday at Alexandria Senior Center

An Alexandria senior center caught fire Wednesday afternoon when a lightning bolt struck the roof, according to the Alexandria Fire Department. There were no injuries reported and no one was evacuated, according to a fire department spokesman.

The fire department received a call just after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday from the St. Martin De Porres Senior Center at 4650 Taney Ave. in Alexandria. At least four fire trucks were on the scene of the two-alarm fire. It took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the fire, according to the spokesman.

Alexandria was under a Tornado Warning around noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday and the area experienced heavy downpours and heavy lightning strikes during that time period. It’s likely the strike caused a smoldering fire that didn’t become apparent until later in the day.

The fire department spokesman said that no one was evacuated or injured at the center. The center is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It’s likely, because of the warnings for heavy downpours today, that there weren’t many people at the center at the time of the lightning strike. No one answered the phone when Patch called Wednesday afternoon.

The damage to the center was reported to be about $25,000. The senior center is a partnership funded by the City of Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services Division of Aging and Adult Services.

PHOTO of Alexandria fire truck/Patch archive photo