HURRICANE, W.Va. — Fire erupted just after midnight at a building in Teays Valley housing two Putnam County businesses. Nine fire departments from three counties responded to the call at the Valley Health and CBC Engineers and Associates location beside NAPA on Teays Valley Road.
Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the attic space of the above Valley Health, but the medical office sustained water and smoke damage. Crews were able to preserve and secure medical records and pharmaceuticals at Valley Health. A lot of the equipment however was damaged or destroyed. Damage to the CBC offices next door was very minimal and limited to water flowing under the wall.
Officials on scene said a firewall in the attic prevented further damage in the fairly new structure. An investigation is underway, but the preliminary indication is lightening hit the building just after midnight.
It was just one of many problems powerful storms offered up overnight.
The Lincoln County 911 center in Hamlin took a direct hit from a lightning bolt about 11:30 p.m. Officials said the strike took out power and communications capabilities. They were able to shift to backup systems which kept emergency service intact, but spent most of the night restoring the outages.
Crews from Appalachian Power and Mon Power reported scattered outages across the state. The most impact seemed to be in Doddridge County where schools were delayed by two hours due to a power outage.