NSW Fire and Rescue crews were kept busy on Monday evening responding to a number of minor incidents as a thunderstorm rolled over Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Two crews were dispatched to Fort Scratchley after a Triple-Zero call raised the alarm of a possible fire in the roof of a building on Flagstaff Hill, Nobbys Road.
Crews arrived and worked to gain entry to the building, but determined a light had become dislodged as a result of the storm and was causing heat in the roof. A spokesperson for NSW Fire and Rescue said one crew remained on the scene around 7.35pm, but there was no threat to the structure or surrounding buildings.
Another crew was called to Coles Supermarket on Turton Road at Waratah around 7.11pm after reports of storm damage.
Firefighters assessed some minor water damage, which had caused some flooding through the building and a minor electrical fault. A store manager had made contact with an electrician, the NSW Fire and Rescue spokesperson said.
Crews were called to two lightning strikes - one on Patterson Street at Edgeworth, where lighting had struck a tree around 6.24pm, and another at Brunker Road at Adamstown Heights around 7.05pm. Crews spoke with residents at the scene and determined the area was safe.
A small grass fire on City Road at Highfields was extinguished by rain, the Fire spokesperson said. A crew attended the scene around 6.34pm.
A small electrical fire outside a residential address in Mayfield was extinguished by residents, the spokesperson said. A crew attended the scene around 6.48pm.
Fire crews also responded to several calls to reset automatic fire alarms activated by storm activity, at Hamilton, The Calvary Mater Hospital on Edith Street at Waratah, Kooragang Island, Mayfield and Broadmeadow. In all cases, crews assessed the scene, found no threat to the buildings and reset alarms.
