Lightning Fires Plague Delaware County

Local authorities say a fast-growing central Ohio county has a problem with lightning fires, and they've asked the state fire marshal for help. Fire Marshal Larry Flowers met Wednesday with fire officials from around Delaware County including Genoa Township Fire Chief Gary Honeycutt, who says his community had four lightning fires in July near natural gas lines. The Delaware Gazette reports Honeycutt suspects the gas lines' corrugated stainless steel tubing is vulnerable to lightning. But fire marshal's spokesman Shane Cartmill says the tubing has not been much of a fire issue in the state. Officials are considering whether Delaware County's newer homes are more at risk for lightning because they're in flat areas that used to be farmland. Flowers said the state might start collecting data on lightning fires.