A Watford father has recounted the “terrible” moment he watched a blaze erupt at his family home after a lightning strike.Ali Shah, 59, was at home with his wife, 66, and daughter, 33, and heard the lightning strike, but said “you never think it has hit your house”.
The technology consultant described his shock when he was then awoken at around 5am by a woman at the door telling him to get out as there was smoke “billowing out” of the roof.“I came back downstairs, went out the front door, took a few steps back and looked up and it was a frightening scene,” he explained. “There was just really thick black smoke billowing out.”
He woke his daughter and they rushed out into the pouring rain where they saw a passing policeman, before the fire crews arrived minutes later.Ali and his family watched the firefighters controlling the blaze inside and outside of their home from their neighbour’s window.“I’m extremely grateful to that woman, really grateful to the emergency services who did an amazing job, but mostly thankful to God that all of us were unscathed.
He feels “extremely fortunate and blessed” to have been woken by the stranger, who he has never seen again, and has appealed for her to come forward so he can thank her.The family has now been able to move back into the property, but the damage left will likely take months and over £60,000 to fix.We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues.
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