Collingswood Home Struck by Lightning in Early Morning Storm

The odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are 1 in 3,000, according to National Geographic—but for one Collingswood household, once came early Tuesday morning.

"When we were sitting in the firehouse we actually heard it," said Collingswood Fire Chief Keith Davis. "It sounded like it hit something and shook the firehouse."

The bolt struck a weathervane atop a Victorian home on the corner of Lincoln and Spring Avenues, putting "a pretty decent-sized hole in the roof," Davis said.

It also caused a flash fire that self-extinguished before emergency responders could arrive, he said. Davis said that some electrical damage had occurred, but that the fire did not spread throughout the home, and no one was harmed in the strike.

Fires caused by lightning strike are rare in the borough, Davis said, with the last one he remembered coming about 12 years ago.

For homes that might be taller than others in the area, he added, a lightning rod might do the trick (and fortunately, Collingswood is even home to a lightning rod company).