Residents evacuate amid flames after lightning bolt strikes gas line of Abington group home

Fire crews in Abington were called to two lightning strikes Sunday, the latter of which forced residents of a group home to evacuate amid heavy flames.

Abington Fire Chief Jack Glynn said crews were already at the scene of another lightning strike with minimal damage before 8:00 p.m. when they got word that another bolt had hit a group home for five people with special needs on Washington Street.

Glynn told Boston 25 News firefighters believe the gas line was hit, causing a massive fire to erupt. Crews had to wait for National Grid to arrive and turn off the gas before they could get the fire under control.

“Our crews arrived on scene and they found heavy fire showing from the outside left of the building, apparently a main gas line was struck by lightning – the issue we had at hand was trying to cool the building trying to keep it contained to the outside while trying to turn it off in the street,” said Abington Fire Chief Jack Glynn

All five residents of the group home were safely evacuated and no one was hurt.

As crews continued clean-up efforts, Glynn said it was not yet safe for the residents to reenter the building.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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