Lightning Strikes Dormitory – Longwood Students Evacuated; No Injuries

By Evan Jones, Assistant Editor

FARMVILLE – Firefighters from all seven companies in Prince Edward County as well as a ladder truck from Blackstone responded to a fire at an off campus housing facility near Longwood University on Monday night.

Just before 9:30p.m. on Monday, August 15, lightning struck the northeast building of Longwood Landings, an apartment and retail complex located between Fourth Street and Putney Street.

Firefighters arrived on scene to find flames showing on the northeast corner of the four-story building. Farmville Volunteer Fire Department’s ladder truck was deployed outside while firefighters made an interior attack of the blaze and a sweep of the apartments to make sure that all students were out of the building.

According to Matthew McWilliams in Longwood’s Communications & Media Relations Department, about 60 students had already moved into the four-building complex, and all were evacuated during the fire without injury. When fully occupied, each of the four buildings houses around 100 students.

The damage was contained to the upper floors of northeast building, allowing students scheduled to move into the unaffected adjacent buildings to move in as planned. Students scheduled to move into the affected building will be housed in available space elsewhere on campus.

Longwood’s bookstore is also housed in the ground floor of the affected building, and a release on Longwood’s website indicates they plan to have the bookstore reopened later this week.

 For video from Monday night’s fire, visit our Facebook page: Facebook.com/southsidemessenger