Several North Lauderdale families need place to live after lightning strike caused fire
NORTH LAUDERDALE - Four townhomes have been deemed unsafe to inhabit after being struck by lightning Sunday afternoon.
North Lauderdale Fire Rescue remained on fire watch overnight and into the morning Monday to monitor hotspots.
"I'm shocked I didn't realize that lightning could do something like this. That is scary!" said Monique Sawls, who lives next to one of the condemned townhomes.
Several families have been displaced from their homes by lightning-sparked fire that destroyed two units and severely damaged two others.
"My heart goes out to this lady and her husband, and the fact that they were able to get the pets out. I'm broken I'm really broken right now," said Sawls.
Monday code enforcement officials assessed the damage to the homes.
"It's very scary that as many lightning strikes as we have that this could happen. These are all basically wood-framed homes, so I don't know if that added to it or not, but I know over time those will be some things that the fire marshal will have to look at and figure out," said North Lauderdale City Manager and Public Information Officer Mike Sargis.
Residents who were displaced are being helped by the Red Cross. But for many, they are trying to understand how so much could be lost so quickly.
CBS4 spoke to a resident of one of the townhomes who returned Monday to grab what they could salvage.
"The house is not safe to live in right now because the roof is messed up. We have to wait for fire inspection to come and do a report and then we'll take it from there," said Sara Rielly.
Donna McCully also lives in one of the affected units. She told reporter Trish Christakis on Sunday, "all of my belongings are up there. Everything I own is gone. Everything I own is gone. All of my mementos, pictures of my parents that are dead, everything is gone."
She also said her husband almost got arrested for trying to go back into the home to save their animals. In all, four pets had to be treated. Two dogs and two cats were given oxygen by paramedics on the scene.