Crime & Safety

Lightning Strike Sets Natalie Avenue Home Ablaze

Neighbor breaks a window to save dog from unoccupied house.

A lightning strike during Sunday afternoon's storm set a Natalie Avenue home ablaze and led to a neighbor breaking a window to save a dog inside the home, fortunately the only occupant in the home when the fire started.

Melrose Fire Chief John O'Brien, who was on the scene, said that the fire burnt out the attic and resulted in extensive water damage on the first and second floors, as firefighters battled the blaze during the rain.

"More importantly, it was the lightning," O'Brien said. "(The firefighters) were up on an aluminum aerial (ladder) in the midst of a lightning storm, carrying metal saws. But they did it."

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The Fire Department was notified around 4:15 p.m. about the two-alarm blaze by a neighbor who saw the lightning strike the home and the street fill with smoke, O'Brien said.

One neighbor, Marcy Van Cleave, saw the lightning strike the home and called her neighbors, she said standing outside her home with a charred smell still lingering in the air from the extinguished fire.

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"I called (the homeowners) because I knew where they were, at a lacrosse game, and she said, 'Can you save the dog?'" she said.

Van Cleave broke a window on the first floor and called out to the family pet, Bailey, who was in the kitchen.

"Me and Bailey the dog, we're like this," Van Cleave said, crossing her fingers. "Fortunately, he came right for me."

Coincidentally, Van Cleave was having a get-together at her home, as the Folk Arts Center of New England (FAC) — of which Van Cleave is the executive director — was supposed to have a schooner sail fundraiser today that was canceled due to the weather.

"I just transferred the party here," she said. "So I had all sorts of little girls here who loved watching the dog."

Melrose Fire Engines 1 and 2 and Ladder 1 responded to the fire, along with Reading Fire Ladder 1, Wakefield Fire Engine 2, Revere Fire Engine 3, and Stoneham Fire/Rescue.

O'Brien credited the firefighters for saving the home.

"The guys, they just never gave up," he said. "It was a good aggressive attack and they never gave up. They stayed in it and they never bailed out."

Sunday's storm had measured winds gust at Logan Airport of 68 miles-per-hour, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton. Fallen trees and branches were scattered around Melrose streets and, according to National Grid's website, over 230 customers were without power at about 6:45 p.m.

To check on the status of power outages in Melrose, visit http://www1.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/stormcenter.


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