Freak lightning strike sets house on fire in Upminster

 
Lightning strike: The roof was destroyed in the fire (Picture: Dan Parker)
Dan Parker
Tom Marshall6 August 2015

An elderly woman was forced to flee a house fire sparked by a lightning bolt in an east London suburb.

Four fire engines were sent to the two-storey property in Upminster after it was struck by lightning during an electrical storm at about 8.20pm on Wednesday.

A huge of cloud smoke was seen billowing up from the house in Humber Drive and the roof was virtually destroyed by the blaze.

The London Fire Brigade said the elderly woman, who lives in the house alone, was uninjured after escaping shortly before fire crews arrived. A spokeswoman confirmed lightning was believed to have caused the fire.

Kevin Parker, an upholsterer whose garden backs on to the property, said: "The thunder was so loud it slammed our window shut, I honestly thought it was like a bomb going off.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/DanielMartin_91" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2296086-https://twitter.com/DanielMartin_91" data-vars-event-id="c23">@DanielMartin_91</a> Most terrifying moment of my life! It's the house behind mine! A poor little old ladies house <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=http://t.co/6nk0LKciDp" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2296086-http://t.co/6nk0LKciDp" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/6nk0LKciDp</a>— Dan (@MrDParker) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/MrDParker/status/629041660933074949" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2296086-https://twitter.com/MrDParker/status/629041660933074949" data-vars-event-id="c23">August 5, 2015</a>

"One of our neighbours said it span their washing line around.

"It could have been our house but the main thing is nobody was hurt. If it had hit a car it would have killed them."

Mr Parker, 56, said the woman was already having a terrible week after being mugged on her doorstep two days ago.

"Two guys followed her back from the bank," he said.

"She kept saying 'I don't need this, I've already been robbed this week.' I felt so sorry for her."

Freak fire: Smoke billows up from the house (Picture: Dan Parker)
@MrDParker

Other locals described the loud crack of thunder as so "horrendous" it left children trembling.

On Facebook, Ylva de Sousa said: "I was using my phone plugged in at the time and I just heard a huge rumble and then a big spark came out of the end of my phone."

Carole Murphy said: "I heard it, it was so loud it scared the life out of me so I can't even begin to imagine what those poor people went through, hope they are all okay."

Laura Bailey posted: "It scared me and my two girls so much! My littlest girl's heart was pounding."

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