MCKINNEY, Texas — All that’s left of Brendan Kendrick’s wardrobe is what he wore when he ran out of his home late Thursday night.
Kendrick, who is back in McKinney for the summer, will have to drive to his apartment in Bryan/College Station to get clean clothing.
“My keys…my wallet… Oh, and I was able to save my Nintendo Switch,” Kendrick said, listing what he was able to save from his bedroom.
For the college student, it was a regular night of playing on his phone before falling asleep. Then, shortly after 10 p.m., storms came rolling through Collin County.
“We heard the big thunder,” Kendrick said.
Kendrick said he knew lightning had struck nearby at about 10:30 p.m., but didn’t know how close. He said he felt electricity course through him.
“When the lightning struck, I felt a shock come out of the charging port and hit my phone,” Brendan recalled. “I shook and threw my phone.”
Meanwhile, Brendan’s father, Willie Kendrick, went to inspect any potential damage. He, too, said he knew the lightning must’ve been close and assumed it was somewhere on his property.
“I was kinda surprised by that, you know,” Willie Kendrick said. “It didn’t take long for it to get real smoky in the house,” Willie said.
Willie Kendrick, who works in homebuilding, described seeing flames on the second floor and in the attic.
“I could see flames in there and that’s when I hollered out at [Brendan Kendrick] to get up and get out,” Willie said.
“I just hear this blood curdling yell of, ‘Brendan, there’s a fire!,” Brendan Kendrick said.
Brendan Kendrick, Willie Kendrick, his wife and the family dog made it out safely without injury. The Kendricks said the McKinney Fire Department arrived quickly and contained the fire to the second floor and attic.
However, parts of the ceiling did fall, creating a wet mess of sheet rock and insulation in their home.
Brendan Kendrick said he was anxious at first. Now, he's come to terms with what's happened to his family's home.
"Stuff can get replaced," he said. "Lives can't."