Lightning strikes blind man's home

Manchester - A lightning strike destroyed the Manchester home of a man who is legally blind, but both he and his guide dog were safely rescued.

Firefighters were called to a house at 140 Butternut Road a little before 10:00 p.m. Thursday during a violent thunderstorm.

When firefighters arrived they found 83-year-old William Podolny and his seeing-eye dog, a female German Shepherd named Unique, in the foyer of the burning home. Unique was got his owner to the home's foyer and rescue crews got them both out of the house.

"They met us at the front door. The dog got him into a safe area, which the dog is trained to do and from that firefighters assisted him off the front step," said Dan Huppe, Manchester Fire Department.

Fire officials say the lighting hit the garage's roof, traveled down the house and hit a propane line that lead to two 500 gallon tanks. Luckily, the tanks did not ignite.

"As the dispatcher was talking to the gentlemen he could hear smoke alarms sounding in the back. When he went to investigate further he said he could smell smoke, and possibly an electrical fire," said Huppe.

It took firefighters a little over an hour and a half to knock down the blaze. With his house destroyed, neighbors are stepping in, offering Podolny and Unique a place to stay.

"It was pretty scary and I was just happy he was out and the dog was fine and he was fine," said neighbor, Bernardine Stolp.

The Manchester fire department responded to 22 storm related calls in less than two hours before getting the call to Podolny's home.