DUDLEY, Mass. (WHDH) –Dawn Ashford saw a spear of lightning that hit her neighbor’s home in Dudley while he was out.
“I was watching for funnel clouds. I looked out the window and saw the bold out the window right outside,” said Ashford. “It was really loud and really bright.”
Her husband grabbed a garden hose to stop the flames as they spread into the dryer vent.
“There were flames shooting out of the back so I got out my phone, called 91 and shot water down the vent,” said Greg Ashford. “We tore some of the siding off and you could see the charring up the side, but the homeowner was very fortunate. The lightning must have hit the top of the roof then went straight down.”
Jim Soares returned to find his home with the siding ripped off and charred wood.
“It’s just a couple of pieces I’ll have to replace,” he said.
But he is grateful his neighbor took quick action.
“I’m glad my neighbor was here. If it wasn’t for him, it could have been a lot worse,” said Soares.
Soares said he didn’t even lose power in his house.
The fire department said there were two other possible lightning strikes in town with little or minimal damage.