Lafayette, LA – At 6:41 this morning, Lafayette firefighters responded to a house fire in the 300 block of Norman Drive. First responders arrived on the scene with light smoke showing. The owner indicated that he could smell smoke and thought it was inside the attic. Firefighters entered the attic and discovered the fire above the living room. The flames vented through a small area of the roof. Emergency crews quickly extinguished the fire. The attic area above the living room sustained heavy fire damage.
The owner and his family were home when he began hearing a crackling sound in the attic. Before noticing the fire, the homeowner described hearing a loud noise from lightning strikes. Minutes later is when he realized his house was struck by lightning. Everyone escaped without any injuries.
While firefighters were on the scene, the neighbor informed them that his breaker panel was on fire in his garage. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in the wall minimizing the damage quickly.
Fire officials determined that a lightning strike from the severe weather event this morning was responsible for both homes catching fire. Thankfully, no one was injured in either fire.
