No injuries when lightning strikes in Meredith four times Sunday night

MEREDITH — It was an electric Sunday night for the Meredith Fire Department after four lightning strikes left an apartment building burned, a trailer damaged by wood shrapnel, an alarm system malfunctioning and a high-voltage pole on fire.

“We get [lightning] strikes periodically. It seemed like the lightning was accurate this time," said Meredith Deputy Fire Chief Andre Kloetz. “We had a lot of things getting hit besides trees. Bad night, lot of rain. Area departments were dealing with flooding and washouts. We were grateful to get the help we got because we are all dealing with staffing shortages.”

The first lightning incident occurred around 9:23 p.m, when a high-voltage pole caught fire after being struck.

“I’ve never seen metal or an insulator burning like that,” Kloetz said. “That was followed by one next to a mobile home that hit a tree and blew splinters through the siding.”

There were no injuries in either incident, but mother nature was far from done. Less than 40 minutes later, the department responded to an alarm malfunction at 73 Main St., likely caused by a lightning strike.

“Nine minutes later the one on 11 High St. came in,” Kloetz recalled. “That was the fourth call for a lightning strike. The homeowner and neighbor both felt they had a lightning strike hit the ridge on their apartment building. They started smelling smoke and fire up in the attic, which was very difficult to reach.”

The apartment fire quickly grew to more than the department could contain, and a plethora of agencies responded.

“Laconia sent an engine and ladder, Center Harbor, Moultonborough, New Hampton, Bristol, Holderness, Gilford, Belmont all sent engines,” said Kloetz. “We had engines from Sandwich covering our downtown station and Sanbornton covering our center station.”

Despite the severity of the apartment fire, there were no injuries.

“Stewart’s Ambulance was on scene and they were very helpful in keeping everyone hydrated, and asking if anyone needed medical attention,” Kloetz said. “They might have passed out a little gauze for a scrape, but no significant injuries whatsoever. They’re a big asset to us as well.”

Kloetz said the apartment building was not a total loss, despite extensive interior damage.

“There was damage in the rafter systems and water damage throughout the structure because it quickly spread from one side to the front traveling through the attic spaces,” Kloetz explained. “They’ll have to probably tear down to the framing. The building is a ballooned frame, which means water sprayed up top will work its way down. All the moisture in the insulation has got to be removed. The building shell itself is still good.”

At the time of the fire, only the building’s owner and a single tenant were present. Due to the difficult nature of the fire and the building’s antiquated architecture, it took an hour for the department to knock down the blaze.

“The difficulty was just all the ceiling had to be pulled because they had a tremendous amount of blown-in insulation, some were multiple layers of framing,” Kloetz said. “That's what took a lot of manpower and effort. Without being able to see where the fire spread in the attic spaces, we could only do that by pulling the ceiling.”

The Meredith Fire Department wasn’t back in service until 4 a.m. on Monday.