A fire in the Village of Bridgeport at Miona Shores wasn’t easily detected even though a neighbor and his grandchildren witnessed the Saturday night lightning strike.
Gene Wise was out with his grandchildren at 6:30 p.m. when they saw a bolt of lightning strike the home of John and Marge Leja at 2400 Clearwater Run.
“We could see the sparks,” Wise said.
John Leja was home at the time, his wife was reportedly at church.
Another neighbor smelled smoke and he and John Leja inspected the exterior of the house and the attic. Initially, no fire was found.
But flames broke out and the Villages Public Safety Department arrived on the scene to extinguish the blaze that was primarily contained to the attic and the roof.
Another neighbor, Carol Seelbinder, was in her living room of her home that looks out on the Lejas’ house, when lightning struck.
“I have never jumped so high in my life,” she said.
On Sunday morning, she had some lights in her home that weren’t operating and a breaker had been thrown. She wondered if her home might have also been impacted by the lightning bolt that struck her neighbors’ home.
Wise and his visiting grandchildren, 21-year-old Hannah, a student at Purdue University as well as North Carolinians 9-year-old Gracene, 8 year-old Cate and 4-year-old Ben, were inspecting the damage Sunday morning.
They all agreed it was “pretty scary.”
John and Marge Leja are reportedly staying with neighbors.
Fires sparked by lightning usually revives the debate about Lightning Protection System. Learn what a local expert recommends at this link:Â http://villages-news.com/lightning-protection-systems-could-have-saved-homes-destroyed-by-fire/
