ORLANDO, Fla. – Homeowners are salvaging what they can after lightning hit their house, causing a fire Friday evening.
Orange County Fire Rescue crews said they responded to the fire on Caracus Avenue, off Lake Underhill Road, at about 6 p.m.
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"There were heavy flames inside the attic, but it was all contained inside the attic," Battalion Chief Billy Richardson said. "It didn’t vent to the outside of the house except for smoke."
The homeowner told News 6 her mother was at home when the lightning hit the house.
She said her mother and their three dogs ran to a neighbor's house until fire crews arrived.
Richardson said it was a busy night for this particular crew, which had just gotten a handle on a brush fire that was burning in east Orange County when the team received the call about the lightning hitting the home.
He said the brush fire spread across more than 45 acres before they put it out, and that's when the rain and lightning moved in.
"They were fighting the brush fire since 3 o’clock and are extremely exhausted," Richardson said. "We didn’t have a rehab unit on the scene, so we got everybody rehabbed the best we could, and we had to pack up when all the rain and the lightning hit out there in the woods."
He said the rain most likely helped prevent the brush fire from reigniting.
No one was injured in either fire.