Severe weather may have played a role in a 2-alarm house fire overnight in Medford, Massachusetts.
Firefighters suspect lightning was the cause of the inferno, which was reported at about 1 a.m. by a neighbor.
"There was a tremendous lightning storm earlier. The fire on arrival, although it didn't look bad initially, once the fire started to burn through, we could see it had a tremendous head start on us," Medford Deputy Fire Chief Brian Cronin said.
Crews were ultimately able to extinguish they blaze but fire in "little nooks and crannies" of the home posed a challenge for firefighters.
"It was an extremely tough fight. A lot of hidden fire," Cronin said. "It's an older home with a lot of nooks and crannies... and fire was in every one of them."
One firefighter was hospitalized after being overcome by heat.
No one was home at the time of the fire, according to firefighters.
Massachusetts
The latest news from around the state
Neighbor Shawn Donahue who brought his grandsons to see the damage said the house has been vacant for years.
"That's a lot of damage," Donahue said. "If people were home at 1:30 in the morning... that would have been pretty devastating."
The investigation is ongoing.
