Lightning strike that caused fires in four homes extinguished

A lightning strike that caused a fire in four terraced homes in Essington has been extinguished by firefighters.

We got a call at about 9.10pm on Saturday (21 September) and sent a number of crews to Kitchen Lane.

Our colleagues from West Midlands Fire Service also attended the scene alongside officers from Staffordshire Police.

The lightning strike caused fires in four separate properties in the area. Three of them were evacuated and the fourth was empty.

We worked to contain the fire at the scene and make sure everyone was safe. The gas and electric supply to the area was isolated while the fires were extinguished.

Thankfully, no-one was injured.

A thermal scan of the area was carried out in the early hours of the following morning (22 September) to make sure no hotspots were left over.

In the unlikely event that your home is stuck by lightning, please call 999 as soon as possible. The quicker we know about these types of incidents, the quicker we can make the area safe and protect people from harm.