Lightning strike ignites vehicle over gas leak in Miramar neighborhood, alarming residents: "I could feel the heat at my house"

A lightning strike set a vehicle on fire in a Miramar neighborhood Monday afternoon, creating a dangerous situation after firefighters discovered the car was parked above a natural gas leak.

The fire happened around 1 p.m. in the 6600 block of Dahlia Drive. Multiple agencies, including Miramar Fire Rescue, Hollywood Fire Rescue and the Broward Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.

Matt Leibowitz, who lives next door, said he was inside his home when he heard an unusually loud clap of thunder and decided to step outside.

"I heard a lightning crash, and I decided to go to the store. When I came outside, the car was completely engulfed in flames," Leibowitz told CBS News Miami. "I decided to call 911."

At the time, Leibowitz said he did not realize what had caused the fire, but he vividly remembered the lightning strike.

"It shook the house. The lightning was so loud," he said.

Concerned for his own safety, Leibowitz rushed back inside to move his vehicle away from the burning car.

"I could feel the heat at my house right next door," he said.

According to Hollywood Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Chai Kauffman, crews quickly determined the fire was more dangerous than it initially appeared.

"When we responded, we realized there was a lightning strike that struck the car and hit a gas leak underneath," Kauffman said.

Firefighters requested assistance from a hazardous materials team, while Broward Sheriff's Office deputies worked with emergency crews to shut off the leaking gas.

"Our Hazmat team, as well as BSO, was able to mitigate that by closing the valve," Kauffman said.

Neighbor Fernando Rodriguez, who has lived in the area for about 20 years, said he grabbed his bicycle and rode about a block to the scene after hearing the explosion. He began recording the incident with his cellphone to document what had happened.

"It was terrifying that something like that just happened out of the random," Rodriguez said.

"The way that explosion sounded so loud, I knew that something was so abnormal," he added.

Leibowitz pointed to damage caused by the intense heat, including burn marks on a nearby truck parked close to the burning vehicle.

"Look at the side of that truck right there, all burned from the heat just from this car, and it's sitting right on top of a natural gas line," he said.

Leibowitz said he contacted the homeowners, who were away when the fire broke out. He said they were relieved neighbors acted quickly by calling 911, believing the outcome could have been far worse if emergency crews had not responded as quickly as they did.

No injuries were reported. 

Authorities have not released additional information about the source of the gas leak, and the incident remains under investigation.