Lightning Strikes Allston Street Home Monday

The lightning strike narrowly missed the bed and started a fire in the wall.  Above, the corner of the bedroom, just feet away from were the couple slept.

Outside the house, where fire officials believe lightning entered the house after ricocheting off the metal stovepipe chimney.

– Allison Goldsberry

Around 6:30AM Monday morning Mary Werowinski and her husband Bruce Tsiknas were just waking up when they heard a noise so loud it was like a bomb had gone off.

Werowinski saw a brilliant flash of white light that filled the entire window next to the bed.  Tsiknas saw sparks and smelled sulfur in the air.  Before they knew it they were out of bed and outside with their neighbor checking the outside of the house.  Tsiknas then went into a crawl space into the attic where he noticed some smoke.  The alert neigbor also noticed smoke pouring from the roof and told them to call 911.

“It’s amazing you could get hit like that and the fire would get between the walls and you wouldn’t even know it,” said Werowinski.

“This has taught me if you see smoke, just call 911,” said Tsiknas.

Fire officials believe lightning entered the home after ricocheting off a metal stovepipe chimney, crashing through a wall just feet away from the couple’s bed.

Luckily, the couple is fine, if a little shaken.  Right now they are focused on cleaning up the smoke and water damage and getting the stench of smoke out of the house.

The fire department had to take apart the roof to get at the fire.  The couple is pleased with the quick response from fire and police and the care they took with their home and possessions, noting that firefighters were careful to move Tsiknas’ guitars before busting open the wall in the bedroom.

“It’s a priority for us to thank the police and the fire department.  They did such a great job,” said Werowinski.

According to fire officials, there were no other lightning strikes in Medford during yesterday’s storms.