Lightning struck a group home in Abington, Massachusetts, Sunday night, sparking a fire, as severe storms moved through New England.
The Abington Fire Department says multiple calls came in for a fire at 439 Washington St. that was started by a lightning strike and fed by a gas line inside the building.
Chief Jack Glynn says the incident occurred at a group home that houses five individuals with special needs. The staff evacuated the building prior to firefighters arrival. No injuries were reported, however two people were taken to local hospitals as a precaution. The other three are going to be relocated with family members.
Responding crews found heavy fire showing from the outside of the building upon arrival. It's believed the main gas line may have been struck by lightning, and fire crews were trying to cool the building and keep it contained to the outside while trying to turn it off at the street.
"National Grid's obviously is very busy tonight with storms and so it took us an extensive amount of time, a real coordinated effort water wise to keep the building cool and protect the exposures and not let it get inside the building, which the crews did an excellent job of doing," the fire chief said.
"This is actually very unusual for us to get a gas line. We're not sure whether it hit the top of the building, a tree or a ground or anything along those lines," Glynn added. "This is unusual to have a gas line for us to get hit. Again, the crews like did an excellent job of containing. This could've been disastrous."
It took about 40 minutes for National Grid to respond. Once they were on scene, they shut off the gas quickly and firefighters were able to immediately kill the flames, Glynn said.
Local
The fire department also had multiple calls Sunday night at other locations due to potential lightning strikes.
