WESTFIELD, Ind. (WTHR) Fire crews confirm that a lightning strike caused a house fire Saturday in Westfield.
The house on Markleville Lane behind the Kroger shopping plaza on 161st Street sustained heavy damage.
Fortunately, Tom Bennett and his wife, Ginger, escaped, along with their dog, were able to get out safely.
“It was the loudest crack you ever heard,” Tom said about the lightning strike. “Ginger was in that bay painting and the lights all went off and the smoke alarms started off and she said ‘I think we've been hit by lightning.’”
A neighbor came over and told them fire was coming out of the gable by the garage.
Bennett said he called 911, but within minutes, the fire had spread.
Fire investigators estimate damage at $274,000.
Tom and his wife are staying with other family.
Ironically, this is not the first time the house was struck by lightning, but a previous strike caused much less damage.