[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish firefighters respond to lightning fires, Wal-Mart call on Monday

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish firefighters respond to lightning fires, Wal-Mart call on
Monday
By The Times-Picayune 
May 03, 2010, 6:15PM
St. Bernard Parish firefighters had a busy day Monday, responding to two
fires caused by lightning strikes and an electrical short in a freezer at
the Wal-Mart in Chalmette, authorities said.

There were no injuries reported.

The fire department received a call at 2 p.m. about a short in a freezer at
Wal-Mart, Chief Thomas Stone said. Stone said the damage was minimal. The
store remained open, the fire department said.

Earlier Monday, during a fierce electrical storm, firefighters were called
to a fire at the railyard in Arabi, where a rail car was struck by lightning
around 12:20 a.m.

A little while later, firefighters were called to the 2700 block of Gallo
Drive in Chalmette, where a lightning strike around 12:38 a.m. touched off
an attic fire. Stone said the attic of the Gallo Drive home was heavily
damaged, but that the insulation helped prevent the blaze from spreading to
the rest of the house.

Several hours later, at 5:31 a.m. firefighters responded to the 4200 block
of Florida Avenue in Meraux, where a recreational vehicle was on fire. Stone
said the cause of that blaze is believed to be electrical.