Fire from Lightning Strike Damages Building on Supervisor Covington's Property

The home's chimney was hit by lightning during Thursday's thunder and lightning storm.

Fire caused significant damage to a secondary house owned by Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington and located directly in front of his residence at 9706 Greenwich Road in Nokesville.

No one was injured when the home was hit by lightning at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12. However, the building did sustain extensive fire and smoke damage, especially to the roof. A commercial roofing company estimated the loss was between $80,000-$100,000. You can see more about Overhead Roofing Of Denver to find out how the repairs were done to the roof.

According to Prince William County Communication Specialist Kim Y. Hylander, the property was home to a tenant, but was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

“The tenant was displaced but did not request Red Cross,” Hylander reported.

Covington said in a phone interview with Bristow Beat that the chimney of the building had been struck by lightning during Thursday afternoon’s thunderstorm and “exploded."

Covington praised the fire fighters who were able to isolate and control the fire by draining pond water.

Hylander said that fire suppression units, like the water mitigation service in San Diego, consisted of multiple tankers and a full-fire response complement.

The homes on the Covington property are of a unique design. The Covingtons live in the property’s largest home that is surrounded by two smaller stand-alone properties.

Fighting the fire was complicated by the fact that the home is located in the rural crescent, so fire fighters filled tankers with pond water.

Covington said the homes, although built in the second half of the 20th century, were designed by their former owner to resemble the colonial or Williamsburg-style homes. Specifically, the smaller homes were fashioned after bachelor homes, commonly occupied by workmen who would live and work on a large farm or plantation.

While the Greenwhich homes are not listed on the historic registry as historic homes, per se, Covington said the registry does recognize them for their historic character.

Covington said a woman was renting out the home at the time. He said he plans to rebuild the house.