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Lightning strike causes apartment fire in Germantown

As the flames grew, the fire was upgraded to two-alarm and more crews were requested.

GERMANTOWN, Md. — A lightning strike caused a two-alarm fire in Germantown Tuesday evening, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.

The apartment on Millhaven Place caught fire just after 5 p.m. As the flames grew, the fire was upgraded to two-alarm and more crews were requested.

According to a tweet from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer, Millhaven Place, off Cloppers Mill Road, and some lanes of Great Seneca Highway near Cloppers Mill Road are closed as crews work to extinguish the fire. 

Two firefighters were injured while battling the flames. They are expected to survive. Two people were displaced after the fire and fire officials estimate the apartment suffered $2 million worth of damages. 

An MCPD officer allegedly saw the lightning strike, which firefighters believe ignited lightweight building materials. 

Several counties across the DMV were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning early Tuesday evening, as storms brought strong wind gusts and rain to the region. 

Track storms on the interactive radar here. 

READ NEXT: 

WATCH NEXT: CRAZY lightning strike over Washington D.C.

WOW! Our cameras caught the lightning over DC Aug. 6, 2019 as big storms rolled through. 

The storms were about 33 miles wide and knocked down trees across the area. We also saw some lightning displays like this one!

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