A home in New Hamburg was gutted by an early-morning fire.
Just before 2 a.m., fire was reported in a home on Stonecroft Way.
From his house down the street, Brett Silverthorne may have been the first to notice the flames.
“I looked over and there was fire (on) the roof,” he said.
“There was about a two-foot flame on the peak of the house.”
Silverthorne made his way to his neighbours’ house and started pounding on their door.
“They were shaken up, but they didn’t know what was going on above them,” he said.
Everyone made it outside without injuries. Neighbouring homes were also evacuated as a precaution.
The fire grew quickly.
“It went from two feet to 10 feet in a few minutes,” Silverthorne said.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the home’s roof was engulfed in flames.
Every on-duty firefighter from New Hamburg and Baden – about 35 in total – was called to the scene.
“This whole street was lined up with fire equipment,” said neighbour Carl Snider, who woke up once to the sound of thunder and a second time to the smell of smoke from down the street.
A thunderstorm was moving through New Hamburg at the time, and officials believe a lightning strike may have sparked the fire.
Damage is estimated at $500,000.
