Units from Sykesville, Winfield, Gamber, Baltimore County, and Howard County were alerted for a townhouse fire after a sudden and brief thunderstorm rolled through the Sykesville area in the early evening of Thursday, August 7, 2008. An apparent lightning strike on the roof of a middle unit started an attic and roof fire in the 1000 block of Stone Brook Road off of Piney Ridge Parkway.
Units arriving on the scene reported a working fire and requested a rapid intervention dispatch. A partial collapse occurred shortly into the incident and crews worked from the exterior and from neighboring units. A second alarm was struck for additional manpower and equipment.
One civilian was transported to the hospital. The Maryland State Fire Marshal investigated the incident and determined that it was an accidental fire due to a lightning strike on the roof. There was approximately $280,000 in damage to the units and eleven families were displaced.
