GLENMONT — Tuesday morning’s lightning storms touched off two house fires, police said.
The Bethlehem Police Department is currently investigating two separate fires which they said are possibly related to the storms that rolled through the Capital District in the early morning hours.
Bethlehem Police received a report of a structure fire at 42 Manor Drive in Glenmont on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at approximately 3:45 a.m, where authorities observed both smoke and fire from the residence. The Elsmere, Delmar and Selkirk Fire departments responded to the scene.
A local alarm company reported that a carbon monoxide alarm was triggered at 41 Wheeler Road, also in Glenmont, at about 5 a.m. The Bethlehem Police, as well as Coeymans and Slingerlands Fire departments responded to the scene and found a fire in the basement of the residence.
The string of storms were particularly intense Tuesday morning. Patrol officers and neighbors reported observing almost simultaneous thunder and lightning. Police said observers witnessed what appeared to be very close lightning strikes in the Glenmont area.
After a thorough investigation of both incidents by the Bethlehem Police Department Fire Investigation Team, it is believed both fires are due to lightning related activity. While the exact causes are still being investigated, neither fire appears suspicious in nature.