Garage Fire, Lightning Strike Keep Bloomfield Township Firefighters Busy

responded to separate calls of one house fire and possibly a second one sparked by a lightning strike Tuesday morning, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the 1000 block of Timberlake after neighbors reported smelling smoke at about 9 a.m., Township Fire Marshall Mike McCully said. They found smoke streaming out an attached garage upon arrival and quickly doused the flames before they spread into the home, McCully said.

No one was home at the time and no one was injured. McCully said the cause remains under investigation and that damage estimates were not available. Members of the Southfield Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Just as crews were clearing that fire at about 10:30 a.m., reports of a lightning strike came in from a home in the 2000 block of Turtle Pond Court. Firefighters confirmed a strike, but there was no fire or significant damage to the home.

Everyone inside at the time was uninjured and allowed to remain in the house once it was determined safe, McCully said.

"The house didn't actually burn, but we go in and make sure there are no burned wires, no fires in the walls, and basically, no hidden fires that we can't see," he explained.

Firefighters cleared the scene in about an hour.