Lightning strike causes fire, extensive damage to Scott Payne home

    From the outside of the brick home of Scott and Linda Payne north of Imperial, it’s hard to tell it suffered extensive damage from fire.
    Inside, it’s a different story.
    A fierce thunderstorm full of lightning hit Chase County Wednesday night June 6.
    Imperial Fire Chief Doug Mitchell said the fire marshal determined a bolt of lightning hit a radio antenna beside the Payne home.
    The strike followed the wires down into the basement of the home, where it ignited the fire.
    The Paynes were still up and Scott said he was watching TV about 9 p.m. when they hear a loud pop and saw a flash of light.
    They began to smell smoke so they evacuated the home and called 911.
    Mitchell said the call came in at 9:38 p.m. that evening. Both the fire department and EMS crew responded to the scene.
    Mitchell said by the time they arrived, it was apparent the fire was mainly in the basement. There is an outside entrance to the basement so that’s where they started their internal attack to knock down the fire.
    The chief said it was good fortune they identified the location of the fire. Normally, he said they would start the attack on the main floor. But what they didn’t know was that the fire had burned through the main floor in one location.
    That could have been a bad situation for firemen, he noted.
    He said it took about 45 minutes to contain and extinguish the fire.
    The fire marshall from Ogallala was summoned to the scene as well. Upon inspection, Mitchell said the fire completely burned through six floor joists and a toilet from up above had fallen through the floor.
    Paynes expressed their appreciation to both the fire department and the EMS. The EMS crew moved the Paynes into one of the ambulances to keep them warm.
    “The EMTs took really good care of us and of the fire fighters, too,” the Paynes added.
    Mitchell said the members had just completed training two nights before in a smoke-filled house with breathing apparatus, so it was fresh on everyone’s mind.
    In  addition, previous training on setting up a water supply with portable tanks kicked in and there was no problem having adequate water supply at the scene.
    In addition to Imperial firemen, the Lamar fire department supplied men and trucks and Wauneta responded with a water tanker.
    Insurance adjusters were on the scene but it’s going to take some time to get everything straightened out, Linda said this week.
    Once the insurance company makes some determinations, then they will be able to make some decisions, she said.
    “We’re just taking things a day at a time.”
    Right now, they are staying at Billie Hayes’ guest house.