Fire department, Harrington House struck by lightning on Anna Maria Island

Wednesday morning’s heavy storms caused at least two structures on Holmes Beach to be struck by lightning — the West Manatee Fire Rescue station and the historic Harrington House Beachfront Bed and Breakfast.

Fortunately, no serious damage or injuries were reported at the inn, 5626 Gulf Drive, but for those who were near the strike, it was a scary experience. Ethan and Julie Rogers are visiting from St. Louis and were in the rental unit that was struck at about 10:30 a.m.

“It sounded like a sonic boom,” Ethan Rogers said. “It was super loud.

The pair were getting ready to come down for breakfast when the strike hit the roof of their building.

“I just heard a loud crash and all of a sudden the lights went out and came back on a few times,” Julie Rogers said. “You could hear the electricity being charged. It was humming and then I smelled smoke.”

The lightning left the rooftop smoldering, but there was no evidence of a fire, according to Andrew Lauricella of West Manatee Fire Rescue.

Firefighters responded after dealing with a lightning strike at the fire station at 6001 Marina Drive.

“We definitely knew right away that we got zapped,” Lauricella said. “We were just in the process of making sure everything was OK here when we got the call for the Harrington House.”

The Harrington House’s Mark Davis praised the quick response from the fire department.

“Our facilities guy was working on the air conditioner at the time of the strike and was in the building,” Davis said. “Fortunately, most everyone was already at breakfast, but he was able to get everyone out of the building quickly just to be on the safe side. There was a bit of smoldering where the lightning struck, but the fire department responded within minutes, cleared the building floor by floor and everyone is back in their rooms.”

Julie Rogers said she was pretty quick to recognize what had happened.

“When I was a kid, my neighbor’s house was struck by lightning and that one actually started a fire,” she said. “But it sounded exactly the same and was just as loud.”

Harrington House owner Jo Davis was just happy with the outcome.

“The best part is that nobody got hurt,” she said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Fire department, Harrington House struck by lightning on Anna Maria Island."