Friday, June 12, 2009

HOUSE FIRE CAUSED BY LIGHTNING

The home of Dr. Ben and Mary Cashion at 464 Lane Hill Drive suffered fire and smoke damage during the Friday night storm. The fire apparently started when lightning struck a tree in their front yard and traveled through a copper wire inside the PVC gas pipe to their gas meter next to their house. The meter exploded resulting in a fire fueled by natural gas which burned the south side of the Cashion home.

Haleyville firemen quickly extinguished the flames and stopped the flow of gas. According to experienced firemen, this was most unusual because lightning does not normally strike gas lines. Ben and Mary were home watching TV at the time of the fire. According to Dr. Cashion, every TV in their home, except the one that was on and being watched was damaged by the lightning.