A Catholic school in Florida is assessing damage after a lightning strike started a fire in the gymnasium.
According to 10 Tampa Bay News, more than 40 fire units responded to a 3-alarm fire at St. Petersburg Catholic High School Tuesday around 3:54 p.m.
The fire was upgraded to a three-alarm fire around 4:45 p.m.
The Diocese of St. Petersburg noted in a social media post that the gym was struck by lightning, adding that smoke was seen coming from the roof of the gym.
"At the time, the junior varsity volleyball team was playing; they were practicing," a spokesperson for the Diocese said. "When the lightning struck, they were able to evacuate the building. No injuries, everyone was safe. And this did occur after school."
Steven Sims, a neighbor who witnessed the incident after lightning struck, told 10 Tampa Bay News that he saw smoke and flames coming from the roof. Sims explained that there was "a huge boom," adding that a lightning strike around the time of the incident also took out power to his house.
"It was really crazy," Sims said after describing a scene of student athletes and school staff being evacuated while the roof had smoke and fire coming out. "It's really unexpected and really unfortunate."
