Residents escape after lightning strike sets home on fire, NC firefighters say

The residents of a North Carolina home escaped a house fire that officials believe was started by a lightning strike.

Firefighters were called to the home on Ravennaside Drive in the Brunswick Plantation subdivision of Calabash during a “strong thunderstorm” Saturday morning, July 23, the Calabash Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

Crews arrived just before 9:30 a.m. to find “heavy smoke” billowing from the attic, the fire department said.

“Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control in about forty-five minutes but remained on the scene for several hours checking for fire extension and hot spots,” the fire department said.

The fire department said “the cause of the blaze is believed to be a lightning strike.”

“Fortunately, the home’s residents, who were at home when the fire broke out, were able to escape without injury and no firefighters were injured in the fire,” the fire department said.

Fire damage was contained in the attic, but water damage was found throughout the home, firefighters said.

No other information had been released as of Sunday, July 24.

Calabash is in southeastern North Carolina, about 160 miles from Raleigh.

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