Several Los Alamos Fire Department units respond to a fire Tuesday night at a Los Pueblos Road home. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
A lightning strike Tuesday evening at the home of Leo and Clare Webber on Los Pueblos Road evening caused substantial damage but the couple escaped without injury.
The Los Alamos Fire Department received a call of the strike about 9:30 p.m. and dispatched several units to the scene. During the same time frame, LAFD also responded to a fire alarm at the Los Alamos County Eco Station on East Jemez Road.
According to Battalion Chief Justin Cassel who was on the scene at the Webber home, engines, trucks and medical units responded from Stations 1, 4, 5 and 5, with other units moving around the county to provide backup coverage. Also on scene were Fire Chief Troy Hughes and Division Chief Paul Grano as well as police officers Adam Jung and Michael Weiss.
The Webbers explained that when Leo Webber arrived home, the couple sat down to watch television and both smelled smoke, still not realizing the house had been struck. Clare Webber went upstairs to close the windows and noticed a brown, scorched area on the ceiling. She said there were no flames but she could hear crackling and popping above and immediately called for help. She said the fire department and police response was extremely quick.
Firefighters quickly located the area burning and had to break down a wall between a second story bathroom and the hallway to extinguish the fire. After that, they continued to monitor the structure for hot spots and waited for fire inspectors to arrive.
The Webbers, their sons and several neighbors waited across the street from their home throughout the evening until they met with Fire Inspector John Kelley. Neighbors expressed their relief that nobody was injured during the incident. Everyone seemed to have heard the lightning strike but it was only when the emergency response vehicles began to show up that they knew where it had struck.
The fire was located in the second story area above the front doorway. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Firefighters exit the house after locating and extinguising the fire. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Division Chief Paul Grano monitors the situation. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
A firefighter consults with Battalion Chief Justin Cassel who is monitoring the situation from inside his vehicle. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com.
LAFD Truck 1 ready for action. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com