Lightning strike sparks townhouse fire; no one hurt
Firefighters quickly snuffed out a roof fire likely caused by a lightning strike at a Schaumburg townhouse complex late Monday morning, officials said.
The fire broke out in the attic of two of the units in a two-story, four-unit townhouse building on the 300 block of Oak Meadow Court in the Lexington Green II subdivision. It was brought under control within 20 minutes, Schaumburg Fire Capt. Mark Harper said.
No one was injured as the occupants already had been evacuated by onlookers like Steve Barnett and a neighborhood resident walking his dog.
The 20-year-old Barnett of Elk Grove Village just started working there as a lifeguard for the complex's pool that opened Saturday.
"I heard a huge bang and I looked across the street and I saw smoke coming from the house," Barnett said. "I assumed that it was lightning. I grabbed my phone and hopped the fence, and called the fire department."
Barnett helped three elderly people in the building whose roof was on fire evacuate, while the other man notified neighbors in the complex.
Fire crews spent most of their time cleaning up and trying to prevent water damage.
"They actually did a very good job of moving personal items and everything was covered," Harper said.
The fire was contained to the attic space, Harper said.
The fire is under investigation, but Harper said lightning most likely sparked it.