An Andover family has been displaced from their home after a reported lightning strike caused the attic and second floor of 21 Fossen Way to become engulfed in a three-alarm fire Tuesday afternoon.
For more than three hours, firefighters battled the blaze, which consumed much of the home's roof and upper floors, rendering the home uninhabitable.
No one was injured in the fire.
Town records list the occupants of 21 Fossen Way as Dana and Paul Mackay, and their children in their 20s, Sean and Skye.
One adult female was home when the fire started, said Fire Chief Michael Mansfield. She heard a clap of thunder, but didn't think much of it. When the smoke detectors went off and the resident began to smell smoke, she evacuated, taking her family pets to a neighbor's home, and called 911, he said.
Andover Deputy Chief Albert DelDotto is working with the state police fire marshal team to investigate the fire.
About 45 firefighters from Andover, North Andover and Tewksbury worked to extinguish the fire on the West Andover cul-de-sac through a steady rain. Ominous thunder claps could be heard over the sirens and emergency vehicle engines.
Neighbors gathered, huddled under umbrellas, to watch the progress, chatting, talking on cell phones and giving each other hugs. Red Cross disaster services responded to the scene, talking with residents.
One neighbor, who declined to identify himself, said he heard the lightning strike the home and was very glad everyone was safe.
All Tuesday afternoon, fire and rescue vehicles lined Fossen Way and hose lines ran through the street and over lawns to connect to fire hydrants. Fire personnel could be seen through the windows of the home, shining flashlights and using axes to chop into walls and ceilings, searching for hidden pockets of flame.
Occasionally, a jet of water would spray through an open window or hole in the roof. An American flag on the front of the home fluttered as smoke and ashes wafted by, drifting into neighbors' lawns.
Firefighters went in and out of the home, pausing on the front lawn to change their air tanks and drink a bottle of water. Fire Lieutenant Todd Pomerleau kept a tally of every fire fighter who went into the home, making sure they came out safely.
The fire started in an unfinished top-floor attic of the 2 1/2 story wooden building, and spread to the second floor, said Mansfield. Twenty-five percent of the roof was fully involved in flames when fire crews arrived, and portions of the roof later collapsed into the second floor, he said.
Complicating matters was that the home was too far set back from the road to use a ladder truck to reach the second floor, said Mansfield. Fire crews climbed on portable ladders with hoses and axes to reach the second floor and roof.
The pouring rain was "negligible" in helping extinguish the fire, he said, and weighed down the firefighters' heavy uniforms and equipment, and their made ladders more slippery.
"We tried to get as much personnel and resources as we could (to the scene)," said Mansfield. "Given the circumstances, personnel did an extremely good job of aggressively attacking (the fire), and were able to save a good portion of the house."
By 5 p.m. the fire was under control and crews from Tewksbury and North Andover began to leave the scene. Andover Building Inspector Kaija Gilmore arrived to look over the home, wearing a rain coat and hard hat.
While Andover's fire-fighting force was at work on Fossen Way Tuesday afternoon, town fire stations were being covered through mutual aid by emergency crews from neighboring towns.
