Lightning strike causes fire at nursing home
BBCOne person has been taken to hospital after a lightning strike caused a fire at a nursing home.
Fire crews were called to reports of a lightning strike and smoke seen coming from the second floor of St Benedict's Nursing Home on Benedict Street, Glastonbury, at 00:41 BST.
White Care Group, which runs the home, said the strike had caused a small electrical fire in an en suite bathroom, with the rest of the building running as normal.
They added that a resident was being taken to hospital as a precautionary measure and was being monitored.
Three people were evacuated from the building by crews, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said, with one person taken to hospital. A further 25 people were able to remain in the building.
Teams from Glastonbury, Totnes, Bridgwater, Street, Martock, Shepton Mallet and Wells attended the fire, leaving the scene by 05:51.
A spokesperson for White Care Group said the company was "doing everything possible to reassure and support our other residents", adding that a total of six residents were temporarily moved out of their rooms.
"The damage to the building was limited to one room and one ridge-tile on the roof," they said, with the initial reports of the damage indicating that it had been "considerably worse than, thankfully, is actually the case".
Somerset and the entire West region had been covered by a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms overnight.
Speaking near the scene, neighbour Vivienne Williams described the storm as "horrendous", adding: "I really thought the world was coming to an end."
She told the BBC the thunder and lightning has been so severe that the alarms went off, automatically alerting the fire station who also sent a crew to her block of flats.
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