A neighbour has described the moment he heard a ‘big loud bang’ on a Bury street where a house fire broke out last night.
The blaze broke out at a house on Whitehead Crescent in Brandlesholme yesterday evening, Sunday, with a neighbour believing lightning hit the property.
Fire crews from three stations were on the scene overnight, but no serious injuries have been reported.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed its officers had not been asked to investigate the incident.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “At just before 8.30pm last night (Sunday May 12) three fire engines from Bury, Whitefield and Ramsbottom fire stations attended a fire involving the upstairs of a semi-detached home on Whitehead Crescent, Bury.
"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reels and a smoke curtain to extinguish the fire and make the area safe. Crews were in attendance for around nine hours.”
Neighbour Bradley Madden, 48, lives at 28 Whitehead Crescent, and said he heard a ‘bang’ which felt like ‘someone had lit a firework.’
He said he believed the fire was caused by a lightning strike, but this has not been confirmed by the fire service.
He said that this is the second time that lighting has hit the road, following an earlier incident last year.
He said: “ I was in my bedroom and I heard a bang, it was like a crack, a big loud bang and then a crash.
“You could see the flames coming out of the window in the back garden.
“The guy who was in the house, he came out but his dog was still in the house.
"His face was just black and he ended up trying to get back in but the fire brigade were holding him back.
“Then the fireman went in and rescued his dog and the whole street was clapping and cheering.
“[The fire crews] were there until 4 or 5 o’clock this morning.”
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