Carrum Downs home destroyed after lightning hit neighbours palm tree
A Carrum Downs family have lost their home after a bizarre chain of events following a lightning strike that set fire to a neighbour's palm tree.
South East
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A Carrum Downs family has been left homeless after a freak fire which started when a neighbour’s palm tree was struck by lightning.
Avinesh and Vandani Chand and their two children Varunesh, 11, and Komal, 8, lost everything when a fire ripped through their Ravenswood Court house on Tuesday.
In a series of unfortunate events, wild weather lashed the suburb on Monday which caused lightning to strike a palm tree in their neighbour’s backyard.
Flames from one tree jumped onto another palm tree with both going up in flames.
The next day, embers from the smouldering tree blew into the roof of the Chand’s home and set the property ablaze.
Mrs Chand and her daughter Komal were the only ones at home at the time of the fire but managed to escape without injury.
The Frankston Hospital nurse said she was folding washing about noon when she realised smoke was circulating around the house.
“I grabbed my daughter and found the keys to the car and ran outside,” she said.
“I just thought of my daughter’s safety at the time.”
Mrs Chand said the fire ripped through the house within five minutes.
“When I looked back, the whole house, the ceiling was filled with smoke then it engulfed in flames straight away,” she said.
Mrs Chand said she was in a state of shock but tried to stay calm to protect her daughter.
“I didn’t want to panic her,” she said.
“She was crying and if I had lost my sanity at that time, I wouldn’t have functioned properly.”
Mrs Chand said she was thankful for her neighbours who looked after Komal so she didn’t see the tragic events unfold.
Mr Chand, a mechanic, was at work at the time and son Varunesh was on school camp.
Palm tree owner Nelly Nunez and her daughter Rachel were at home when the storm hit on Monday.
They said they couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the tree on fire.
Ms Nunez’s other daughter Denise said her family felt a sense of guilt for the house blaze.
“To see your neighbours go through that, you almost feel guilty because it started in your own backyard,” she said.
“But at the same time it’s a freak accident … there’s nothing we could have done.”
She said the tragic incident was hard to fathom.
“It’s not something you think you will ever have to go through,” she said.
“Lightning striking your backyard isn’t something that usually happens.”
Neighbour Christy Treble said she saw a “massive fire ball” shoot over her home on Monday but thought the disaster was over once the palm tree was hosed down.
Ms Treble said she was devastated when she saw the Chand’s home go up in flames the next day.
“They are the most beautiful family,” she said.
“They will do anything for anybody at anytime at the drop of a hat.”
Ms Treble said the whole street helped distinguish both fires before emergency services arrived.
The Carrum Downs resident organised a GoFundMe to raise money for the family to rebuild their lives.
“We just want to help them as much as we can and get them back into our street,” she said.
“We share vegetables and recipes and we look after each others children.
“We are a very close knit community,” she said.
