SUMMERDALE — Lightning has been deemed to be the cause of a Monday morning fire in Summerdale.

As previously reported, rescue teams responded to a 1:35 a.m. call Monday in which a fire was reported at Direct Furniture Outlet.

“The (Summerdale) Fire Department responded to that,” Summerdale Police Chief Eddie Ingram said in an interview. “A passer-by saw the smoke and called.”

He explained that rescue workers extinguished a small fire in the store’s electrical-panel box, and the facility’s power had been shut off.

However, a return trip had to be made to Direct Furniture.

“We got the second call about 3 a.m.,” Ingram said, explaining that another passerby also saw smoke at store, which is located at the intersection of Alabama 59 and County Road 32.

However, this second fire was much bigger.

“It was big,” Ingram said. “It was hot.”

So big, that rescue workers from Silverhill, Robertsdale and Foley joined Summerdale in battling the blaze.

“There were nine engines,” Ingram said.

“On arrival, the fire had caused the roof on the southern warehouse portion of the building to collapse, and it was spreading into the northern wood frame building,”  Foley Fire Chief Joey Darby said via email. “I also responded, and due to fire conditions and structural collapse in the warehouse portion of the building, I dispatched our ladder truck and tanker to respond.”

That cooperative effort enabled the fire departments to control the blaze  in about two hours “with crews working to put out hot spots thereafter,” Darby said.

But not before a lot of damage was done.

“The total loss for the building was between $600,000 and $700,000,” Ingram said, adding that the estimate doesn’t include destroyed store contents.

The Summerdale police chief didn’t suspect foul play. However, he contacted experts to investigate and make an official determination of the fire's cause. That determination was made Tuesday.

“A Deputy State Fire Marshal and a Federal ATF agent assisted Summerdale officers with the investigation,” Ingram said, and it was determined that the fire started as a result of a lightening strike.”

That lighting strike came with heavy rains that left several Baldwin County areas flooded. But Ingram said the materials in the store’s framework contributed to the fire’s size.

“That building is made of pine,” he said, adding that the store’s furniture contents, which included wood pieces and fabric-covered items, also contributed to the size of the blaze.