Lightning helps fuel busy day for firefighters in Bedford
by Jack Minch, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BEDFORD -- Yesterday was a busy day for the Fire Department, which answered the call for at least two lightning strikes, a trash fire and a house fire in which a homeowner was injured trying to put out the flames apparently started by his plumber.

The plumber soldering at 235 North Road lit the insulation on fire and then the relief valve on his acetylene tank failed about 11:53 a.m., said Fire Chief Dave Grunes.

The homeowner, whose name was not released due to federal privacy law, apparently tried to pat out the flames and burned his hands. An ambulance from the Billerica Fire Department took the homeowner to an area hospital but his condition was not available last night.

A lightning strike at 315 South Road, which zapped the siding and insulation but did not start a fire, was at 1:41 p.m. The Fire Department turned off the home's electricity as a precaution, Grunes said.

Three minutes after the lightning strike a fire started in a nearby trash compactor at 140 South Road. The fire extended into the building for the R.R. Donnelley and Sons printing company but firefighters pushed the flames back into the container.

It was unclear whether the trash fire started by lightning.

"There was definitely lightning in the area but it's unusual for a trash compactor to be struck by lightning," Grunes said.

The Lexington Fire Department went to the trash compactor fire until Bedford firefighters were done investigating the lightning strike.

Then there was another lightning strike at 2 Charles St., which runs off South Road, at 2:13 p.m. The extent of damage was unclear last night.