Six families, 14 people in total, have been displaced, and a couple of pets died, after a three-alarm apartment fire on Thursday afternoon in Baltimore County.

Firefighters responded around 3:40 p.m. to the 1800 block of Rambling Ridge Lane in Pikesville, where the building was engulfed in flames.

"Crews arrived within minutes, with heavy fire showing throughout the building and through the roof," Baltimore County Fire Spokesperson Travis Francis said.

Francis said that about six minutes before the fire was reported, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for the area.

Investigators are checking to see if a lightning strike may have sparked the fire.

"We will look into the lightning strike report from the National Weather Service to provide information on whether this was a lightnin

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