Crime & Safety

Official: Lightning Strike 'Exploded' Chimney

Deputy Chief Jeffrey Peterson said yesterday's storm was one of the more powerful ones he can remember.

A Benvenue St. resident returned to his home yesterday to lightning striking his house.

Deputy Chief Jeffrey Peterson of the told Wellesley Patch that the owner of the home at 6 Benvenue St. pulled up to his house during the fierce late-afternoon storm yesterday just as .

“The strike just exploded the chimney,” Peterson said.

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The lightning caused a fire in the attic of the home, and though there was extensive smoke and water damage in the house, firefighters contained the fire quickly and much of the damage is reparable, according to Peterson.

The homeowner got his wife and kids out of the house first as soon as he arrived and called emergency services, he said. One firefighter was treated for minor injuries.

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The department received multiple calls during the hour-long storm, which brought lightning, rain and wind to the area.

“I haven’t seen a storm like that in years,” Peterson said. 


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