Lightning strike sparks house fire UPDATED

A HOUSE house was gutted after it was struck by lightning during torrential thunderstorms in Wakefield today.
The incident scene. PIC: Tom MaddickThe incident scene. PIC: Tom Maddick
The incident scene. PIC: Tom Maddick

Firefighters were called to an address on Plumpton Road in Wakefield, at around 6.55am, and said the eight occupants had a very lucky escape.

Watch manager Andrew Kinnear said: “The lightning hit the chimney, passed through the dormer extension, hit the central heating and passed through the house.

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“A man had not long left the dormer room to go out to work when the lightning struck, so he was very lucky indeed, in fact they all were.”

The house in Wakefield struck by lightning this morning. Picture: Ross Parry AgencyThe house in Wakefield struck by lightning this morning. Picture: Ross Parry Agency
The house in Wakefield struck by lightning this morning. Picture: Ross Parry Agency

The lightning strike caused a fire on the ground floor of the property, but the first floor was affected too.

Watch manager Kinnear added: “Everyone was out of the property when we arrived.

The property is now structurally unsafe because there is a hole in the chimney and it could collapse at any time. There is also a smell of gas, which is being investigated.”

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Neighbours of the family said the lightning bolt hit the three-storey terraced property with such force it sounded like “a bomb going off”.

Retired coach driver David Wallace, 73, said: “I was making a cup of tea in the kitchen when I saw a flash and heard a massive bang. That was about 6.45am.

“I didn’t know what it was but I ran out to see if somebody had hit my car. That when we saw black smoke coming out of the windows.

“There are some roof tiles in my garden and some of the other neighbours found some as well. It shook the house.”

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Behind a fire service cordon there is clear smoke damage around the first and second floor windows of the house. But, it is at the rear were the catastrophic damage is most obvious.

Part of the dormer has had a hole burnt in it and the in the floor below the window is out, dark residue covers the walls and windows at this section.

The chimney has also had a mssive hole punched into it by the force of the strike.

Members of the fire service could be seen taking pictures of the damage from a neighbouring back garden.

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Bernadette Langan’s mum, Jennifer, lives two doors down from the burnt property.

Bernadette said: “I live about ten minutes away by car and I heard the bang, it sounded like a bomb going off.”

One resident said the house was a rented property and all the people have now moved out.

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