A family has spoken out about how they ‘lost everything’ in a devastating fire after their house was hit by lightning.
Steve Force, 42, and his partner Rachel Partridge were at home on Saturday night when their property was struck by a massive lightning bolt. The impact of the strike “shook the whole house” and a neighbour alerted them to the fact that their roof was ablaze.
Firefighters rushed to the scene on Kitchen Lane, Essington, Staffs, as the flames spread to three other properties at around 9pm.
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(Image: Express & Star / SWNS)
Crews battled the blaze until 1.30am the following morning, but not before it had destroyed Steve and Rachel’s roof and badly damaged their bedrooms. The family, including their 10 year old daughter Amelia and pet dog Sky, have been left with nothing and will likely be unable to spend Christmas in their own home.
Steve, a car detailer, recalled the terrifying moment the lightning struck, saying: “I have never heard anything so loud in my life. The electrics went out, my daughter started screaming and the dog was going crazy. Then we heard a knock on the door.
The guy who lives opposite us said ‘there is a little fire on your roof’ so we went outside and looked and we thought ‘it is not too bad’. Rachel started calling the fire brigade so I went upstairs, opened the attic hatch and there was thick, black smoke.”
“I closed the hatch, got my daughter and the dog and put them in the car. At this point, it had gone from a tiny, little fire to most of the roof. There was black smoke everywhere.”
(Image: Express & Star / SWNS)
While waiting for the arrival of fire crews, Steve and Rachel began alerting their neighbours to the blaze and urged them to evacuate.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called at about 9.10pm and cut off the gas and electricity supply in the area while they extinguished the blaze.
Steve revealed his partner was left in tears after she discovered family keepsakes had been destroyed in the fire. He added: “My attic is completely gone, everything we had up there was family heirlooms, keepsakes, passports. Rachel was in tears when she found that.
“It is mainly water damage in the rest of the house, my daughter’s bedroom ceiling has completely caved in, nothing electric works. On Sunday, we ripped everything out of the house and it was all ruined.”
The family is currently residing with Steve’s sister-in-law in Telford, Shrops, and have been informed that they will likely be unable to return to their home until after Christmas.
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