A home in south London had to be ripped apart by firefighters responding to a blaze caused by a lightning strike Tuesday evening.
At around 6 p.m. the home, located at 11 Guilford Crescent, was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm that roared over parts of southwestern Ontario. Firefighters were called shortly after by the residents, who reported seeing light smoke in the attic.
According to Platoon Chief Kirk Loveland, at around 6:10 p.m when crews arrived for the first of three visits to the property, they used thermal imaging cameras to try and pinpoint a possible hotspot within the home, but found nothing unusual. Firefighters cleared the scene shortly after.
Around two hours later, at approximately 8:30 p.m., crews were dispatched to the residence again for a fire in the attic.
Loveland pointed out that the origin of the blaze was in a different location from where the smoke was detected hours earlier. He explained that when lightning strikes a home, it can often take time before a fire erupts, while it travels through a home’s electrical wiring or pipes before igniting somewhere.
“The fire could smolder for hours without anyone knowing and burst through anywhere,” said Loveland.
Firefighters remained on scene for several hours late Tuesday evening to put out the fire, going through the roof to conduct an overhaul.
The fire department responded to the home for a third time at around 3 a.m. Wednesday after smoke was seen coming from the home yet again. Loveland said the flames were found in another spot, away from the area doused during the second call.
Despite doing everything they could, Loveland said the damage to the home is irreparable. A damage estimate to the home has been pegged between $500,000 and $700,000.
“[The] crews feel horrible,” Loveland said, calling it a horrible situation for the family involved.
-With files from Tamara Thornton
