7 firefighters injured in VT lightning strike

GUILFORD – Seven firefighters were hospitalized with injuries they sustained following a lightning strike while fighting a house fire Wednesday afternoon in Guilford.

The firefighters were taken to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital for observation, said Vickie Hall, an EMT with the Guilford Volunteer Fire Department. Five were being examined at 7 p.m. Wednesday, while two others were treated and released, a hospital spokesman said.

Guilford Firefighter Dan Stoughton said the hospitalized firefighters were in the building on East Mountain Road when they suffered their injuries.

Stoughton said six fire departments were dispatched at about 2:30 p.m. to battle a two-alarm blaze at the end of a private driveway.

He said it took about 90 minutes to get the fire under control, and the departments were waiting for the heavy rain to stop before resuming operations.

Stoughton believes, but could not confirm, that the fire was caused by a lightning bolt during.

According to a posting on the Guilford Volunteer Fire Department's Facebook page, "Several firefighters from Guilford and other towns were in close proximity to a lightning strike and were transported to be checked out."

The Vermont State Police tweeted an alert about the incident, adding of the injured firefighters: "Please keep them in your thoughts."

Torrential downpour saturated the soil surrounding the house and the dirt road leading up to it. Several firefighters were using a hose to douse the structure with water, while others were using an ax to hack away at the charred remains.

Severe storms rolled through the Northeast and New England on Wednesday, spawning heavy rains and lightning.

Contributing: Free Press staff, Associated Press