Lightning Plays Havoc in Montville

The storms that thundered through the area Wednesday night caused  a number of problems in town.

A Fellows Road resident was reportedly hit by lightning at 10:24, according to Fire Marshal Ray Occhialini. Apparently, the lightning went in through his hand and out through his foot. He was taken by Oakdale ambulance to the hospital; there is no report yet on his condition.

Montville Chief Ron Turner said a metal scrap heap at DW Transport caught on fire, possibly because of a lightning strike. Occhialini said his office believed the fire was caused by lightning. 

The pile included a "mixed bag of products" including metals, half-ground-up refrigerators and other similar scrap items, Turner said. 

"It was a very large pile."

The fire was deeply seated inside the pile, Turner said, but the firefighters could only address it on the exterior of the pile. They would get the flames out, and then someone from DW Transport would use a "claw" to stir the pile, and the firefighters would find more flames.

The call for the fire came in at 1:45 this morning, and Turner said they left the scene at 7 p.m.

Lenny Rochester, operations manager for the plant, said this was the first time that he knew of that the local plant had been hit by lightning. But, he said, it happens regularly at scrap metal recyclers.

Turner said that Mohegan, Montville and Chesterfield fire companies all responded; Oakdale also sent a tanker. Quaker Hill and East Great Plains covered.

Connecticut Light and Power reports 181 people in Montville without power. Occhialini said they are mostly on Kitemaug Road. More storms, as powerful as the ones Wednesday night, or even more powerful, are predicted for this afternoon and this evening.