GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Eleven family are starting over after lightning struck their Gwinnett County home early Wednesday morning, sparking a fire that consumed their house and injured a firefighter when the roof collapsed.
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Douglas, who asked that his last name not be used, was awakened at 2 in the morning by his teenage son’s urgent warning that their Grouse Court home in Lawrenceville was on fire. Surveillance video from a neighbor captured the moment lightning struck the house.
“I see the bright light, that gold,” Douglas said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
After his son alerted him to the fire, Douglas quickly got into survival mode to get everyone out safely. The family of eleven, with eight people home at the time, had to evacuate quickly, including Douglas’s elderly mother-in-law who uses a wheelchair after suffering a recent stroke.
“He did what he got to do, and I did what I had to do,” Douglas said.
In the chaos, no one stopped to grab personal belongings.
“We didn’t even worry about phones or whatever stuff we had. We just make sure everybody get out,” Douglas said.
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Everyone escaped safely, but as firefighters battled the flames from inside the house, the roof suddenly collapsed on one of the firefighters. The injured firefighter was pulled to safety by colleagues and has since been released from the hospital.
The family lost everything they had gathered over 15 years in the home. Douglas says he’s still processing what happened.
“I see it happen to other people, but to see it happening to me? I’m still in shock,” he said.
Despite losing all their possessions, Douglas says his family is grateful to be alive.
“Thank God, we stayed alive. Thank God, we stayed alive,” he said.
The Red Cross is providing temporary housing. The family has started a GoFundMe page for immediate needs.
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