Lightning is the suspected cause of two house fires in Wayne County Monday.
Fire devastated a home on Faller Road in South Canaan Township around 4 p.m., while a second fire damaged a homeowner’s electric heat in Waymart about a half hour later.
No injuries were reported in either case.
Firefighters were called to a mobile home fire on Faller Road around 4 p.m.
Heavy smoke and flames were pouring out of the windows when they arrived, said Lake Ariel Fire Chief Jason Rossignol.
Honoring the family’s request for privacy, Rossignol did not release their names, only to say two teenage girls were home at the time of the blaze and that both escaped unharmed.
“One of the teenage girls in the house smelled smoke and ran next door to the neighbors” where they dialed 9-1-1.
A State Police Fire Marshal was on scene Monday and was expected to return again Tuesday to try and determine the cause. Rossignol said it’s believed to have been “either a lightning strike or electrical in nature.”
Approximately 25 firefighters from Lake Ariel, Waymart, Jefferson and Maplewood fire companies responded, along with the Waymart Volunteer Ambulance.
Though they had the fire under control in 15 minutes, Rossignol said the mobile home was a “50 to 70 percent loss.”
The Lake Ariel Chief says they remained on scene for about an hour to ensure there were no hotspots.
“The Red Cross came out to assist (the family) last night, but I believe they’re staying with relatives,” Rossignol said.
Thanking all who responded, Rossignol said, “We all work well together. We train together often, so that helps a lot.”
A second lightning strike is said to have occurred about a half hour later, just several miles away on Honesdale Road in Waymart.
“Lightning hit somewhere close and fried their electric heat,” is what the homeowner told Waymart Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Vinton.
“The homeowner said there were sparks coming out of the electric heat dial. When we got there the power was off,” Vinton said.
The deputy chief says they were toned out sometime after 4:30 p.m.
Seven fire companies and Waymart Volunteer Ambulance were toned out. Seelyville, Prompton, Lake Ariel, and Honesdale; along with Greenfield Township and Rescue 59, both of Lackawanna County, were canceled.
The deputy chief said they went in with a thermal imaging camera to check the fuse box and that the homeowner had called an electrician.
“The homeowner turned off the main fuse in the fuse box. The lightening only tripped two of their circuit breakers,” Vinton said.
There was no fire when they got there, he said.
Waymart was on scene for about 20 minutes.
Wayne County —
