APOPKA, Fla. — A lightning strike destroyed an Apopka family’s rental home on Sept. 9, leaving five family members without a place to live and forcing them to start over with nearly nothing.
Maria Rodriguez said neighbors heard the lightning strike and felt the impact.
“One of them said it felt like an earthquake, so they came out immediately,” Rodriguez said. “And then they noticed the smoke right away, coming from the corner of the house.”
Apopka firefighters responded to the 1-alarm fire as neighbors captured video of the blaze.
Rodriguez was at work about a mile away when her daughter called to tell her the house was on fire.
Her 14-year-old daughter, Aliyah Maldonado, remembers seeing firefighters surrounding the home that afternoon.
“So, everybody was calling the 911. I just saw a bunch of firefighters around the house and smoke, and I saw my mom crying,” she said.
The home is now unlivable.
The family was able to recover a few picture frames and a Bible, but most of their belongings were destroyed.
Rodriguez said she has talked with her children about what matters most after losing nearly everything.
“You know, we try to talk to them about materialistic things and, you know, that it’s obviously more important that God saved us because we weren’t there at the time,” she said. “So two of them are old enough to understand that, which I’m grateful for, that.”
The family’s dog, Coco, was inside when the fire started, but firefighters rescued the pet.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, lightning causes about 4,400 house fires each year in the United States, resulting in millions of dollars in property damage.
The National Weather Service says homeowners can reduce the risk by installing a professionally designed lightning protection system, adding whole-house surge protection and staying away from electrical equipment and plumbing when thunderstorms move in.
Apopka Fire Department Division Chief of Training Sean Knapp said homeowners should know what to do when an emergency happens.
“Make sure that you call 911. The second thing is that you have workable smoke detectors. And the third thing is if you have an emergency escape plan with your family,” Knapp said.
The family said one lesson from the fire is the importance of renters’ insurance.
Rodriguez said she never expected something like this to happen to her family.
“Because this was really something like, you don’t think it’s going to happen to you, but it’s a lesson like, don’t think something can’t ever happen to you,” Rodriguez said.
The family is receiving help from the community as members work to rebuild their lives.
You can connect to the family on Facebook.