A large house in Watford was struck by lightning early this morning, causing a significant fire in the roof.

Firefighters arrived at the scene on Cassiobury Drive shortly after 5:24 am to find the residents already outside. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.

The fire started after a lightning strike, according to Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to neighbouring homes.pen_spark

A resident described hearing a loud bang and initially thinking it struck their own house. They then saw smoke billowing from their neighbour’s roof.

UPDATE: This morning our crews raced to a ‘substantial’ fire at a house in Watford after it was believed to have been struck by lightning.

Full story here: https://t.co/Tv2tuVfIgA pic.twitter.com/UfmOO8cz6C
— Herts Fire & Rescue (@HFRS) May 2, 2024

“Our crews encountered a sizable fire in the roof,” said Mark Woodward, watch commander at Herts Fire and Rescue’s Watford station. “We deployed two teams with breathing apparatus to combat the fire from within the building, and they were successful in stopping it from spreading further.”

The Lightning and Thunder finally arrived at 4:38 am in Watford Hertfordshire as warned by the @metoffice pic.twitter.com/7fDGmuggVM
— ADHD Mental Health (@ADHDadultlife) May 2, 2024

The Met Office had forecasted thunderstorms, which arrived around 4:20 am and lasted until approximately 6:00 am.

DRAMATIC LIGHTNING STRIKES CAUGHT ON CAMERA AS BRITAIN BATTERED BY THUNDERSTORMS