Lightning hit a corner of the home at about 7 p.m.
EAST LONGMEADOW -- Town firefighters responded to 17 calls in less than three hours during Thursday night's storm, including a house fire at 34 Linden Ave. caused by a lightning strike.
Residents were not home at the time of the fire, returning only to Linden Avenue as firefighters were finishing at the scene, Fire Chief Richard J. Brady said. No one was hurt. The residents expressed only relief that they'd taken their dogs with them for the day instead of leaving the animals at home.
"The dogs would have died without a doubt," Brady said.
Lightning hit a corner of the home at about 7 p.m. and traveled, probably through the downspout and plumbing, to the basement where it started the fire that fire filled the Cape-style home with smoke.
Neighbors noticed smoke coming from the eaves and called 911, Brady said.
Other calls involved trees on homes and wires down. Reports of wires down over an occupied car proved not to be true, Brady said. It was a television cable line under a a car.
Chestnut Street was still closed Friday morning. Brady said that lightning also struck an electrical substation in town, knocking out power to 1,200 customers.