A lightning strike to a third-floor turret on a Victorian home at 1246 Forest Ave. started a fire as thunderstorms rolled through Evanston this evening.
Deputy Fire Chief Tom Janetske says a passer-by spotted flames coming from the roof shortly before 6 p.m., called 911 and alerted the home’s residents.
A lightning strike to a third-floor turret on a Victorian home at 1246 Forest Ave. started a fire as thunderstorms rolled through Evanston this evening.
Deputy Fire Chief Tom Janetske says a passer-by spotted flames coming from the roof shortly before 6 p.m., called 911 and alerted the home’s residents.
Janetske says firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze before it was able to get very far, and they were able to protect the lower levels of the home from water damage. No one was injured, and the residents were able to return to the home that’s on the southwest corner of Dempster Street. and Forest Avenue.
The fire damaged the cedar shakes on the turret and some of the ornamental trim around its circular window.
Janetske says that with many calls for service at the height of the storm, Evanston firefighters received assistance from the Skokie and Wilmette fire departments.
Above: 1246 Forest Ave. this evening (Evanston Fire Department photo). Below: The same home on a sunny day (Google Street View photo).
