Lightning likely cause of Greencastle house fire

Fire Chief Bill Newgent and a Bainbridge Fire Dept. fire fighter work to assess the scene and to clear the home at 410 Fawn View Lane of smoke and possible fire after lightning struck the residence around 1 p.m. this afternoon. (Photo by KYLE HOLLINGER)

Greencastle and other county firefighters spent Monday afternoon at a Deer Field Subdivision residence battling a fire that was likely lightning related.

At 12:46 p.m. Monday, the Greencastle Fire Department was dispatched to the home of David and Jayne Bray, located at 410 Anthony St., for reports of smoke from the rear of the house.

Upon their arrival at 12:50 p.m., GFD units found fire in the rear of the building, coming primarily out of the crawl space and traveling up the side of the building.

When crews got inside the building, they found the kitchen floor was already compromised by the fire. However, they were able to extinguish the fire quickly.

Nobody was present at the home during the lightning strike, save for the Brays' dog, which Fire Chief Bill Newgent was sad to report had died in the fire.

No human injuries, civilian or firefighter, were reported.

While the cause of the fire has not been 100 percent established, Newgent said it was likely lightning. It appears lightning traveled down the roofline to a satellite dish and made entry into the house through a cable.

"Lightning struck our house too," neighbor Joyce Paquin said.

After the strike, her husband Steve Paquin performed a check around the home and found nothing suspicious, just some blown breakers.

During the check, Steve noted that the Brays' home was smoking heavily, that cars had begun to gather outside and told his wife to call 911.

Newgent said property damage was a minimum of $80,000, with much of it coming from heat and smoke.

Greencastle was assisted by firefighters from Cloverdale Township, Madison Township, Reelsville, Roachdale, Bainbridge and Fillmore. Operation Life was also on the scene, along with the American Red Cross.

Fire units remained on the scene until 3:06 p.m.