Investigators blame lightning strike for causing explosion that destroyed northeast Indiana house
2/26/2014FREMONT, Ind. — Investigators have determined that a lightning strike led to an explosion that destroyed a house in rural northeastern Indiana.
The explosion that scattered wood, insulation and other debris around the property near the Steuben County town of Fremont was heard a mile away. No one was hurt in the blast last week because the woman living in the house was at work when it happened.
Fremont Fire Chief Eric Hufnagle tells The Herald Republican that a flexible natural gas line was struck by lightning as a storm blew through the area. Gas then filled the crawlspace and an appliance ignited the gas about an hour later.