SMYRNA, Tenn. — Lightning is being investigated as the cause of a house fire early Tuesday morning in Smyrna.
The fire was reported at about 1:00a.m. on Tonalist Way.
A strong band of thunderstorms was rolling through Middle Tennessee at the time.
Zach Kirsch said he and his wife were sleeping when they heard a loud 'boom!' and knew something was wrong.
"We thought it was just lightning and thunder outside, but we immediately woke up to the smell of smoke," Kirsch said. "After the smell of smoke, our alarms alerted us. We got everyone out of the house, including our animals."
Kirsch and his wife were not injured. Their golden retriever also got out of the home safely.
The back of the home was damaged. Fire Chief Bill Culbertson said when firefighters arrived, they saw fire coming through the roof of the home. Some upstairs bedrooms were damaged, and some of the bottom floor of the home was damaged by smoke and water, Culbertson said.
"Unfortunately this is not very unusual," said Chief Culberston. "When a line of storms comes through with the lightning, you just have to be cautious and these calls happen."
The Red Cross was called to help out the Kirsch family.
Chief Culberston said fire investigators will be out at the scene through Tuesday morning.
