Lightning strikes tree, sparks fire at home in Abington: "It shook the house"

Lightning sparked a fire at a home in Abington, Massachusetts, as a strong thunderstorm moved through the area Friday morning. The lightning hit a 60-foot pine tree and traveled to the home's garage and the electrical panel inside.

"It sounded almost like an atomic bomb went off," said neighbor Ray Murphy. "It was a sound I have never heard before due to lightning." 

The Abington fire chief says at a little past 5 a.m. on Friday, lightning struck a tree in the backyard of the home on Randolph Street. The lightning strike created a trench from the base of the tree to the electrical panel in the garage.

Arriving firefighters encountered heavy fire coming from two sides of the garage and a breezeway to the house. Everyone who lives in the home was able to get out safely before firefighters arrived.

"It shook the house," said neighbor David Campbell.

Campbell lives right next door and says his wife called 911, prompting a major response. "It looked like a fireman convention. I mean there was Brockton, Weymouth, Abington, Holbrook, Rockland," Campbell said.

The fire chief said crews brought the fire under control after a lengthy battle. Crews were still putting out flare-ups at the home on Friday afternoon.

"It does seem like it had some substantial fire damage," Murphy said. "You can see there was definitely a lot of water poured into this building, so that fire must have been migrating quickly."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital for evaluation from smoke inhalation.