No one was injured after a chimney was struck by lighting Wednesday afternoon in Palmerton.

Borough fire Chief Jason Behler said the incident took place at 3:47 p.m. at a duplex at 546-548 Franklin Ave.

“We found the home was evacuated both sides,” Behler said. “We didn’t see any signs of fire from the exterior, and as we talked to the residents what had actually happened was the home was hit by a lighting strike, hit the chimney, basically destroyed the chimney above the roof line.”

Behler said the occupants initially went upstairs to investigate and said it was a strange smell, which prompted them to call the fire department.

He said there were brick pieces that were pretty much thrown probably anywhere from 20 to 30 feet away in all directions.

“For some reason there was no power to the two homes in the duplex; they were the only two homes that were experiencing the problem,” Behler said. “The fire department had a team go investigate the breaker panels in each home and also the meters, but couldn’t find anything out of the normal.”

At that point, Behler said he instructed the residents to contact PPL Utilities to have their electric system looked at before the power would be restored.

He said there were no injuries, and added it appeared at that time there were five people affected; two in one home and three in the other.

“There was a storm coming through right as the alarm came in, and a lot of reports from the area that it was felt up to a block-and-a-half away,” Behler said. “A lot of people had came out and were curious and said they felt a rumble.”

He said firefighters were on the scene for about 20 minutes making sure there were no abnormal signs of heat in the area of the lighting strike or in the attic to ensure there were no conditions of fire.

Behler said the incident was put under control within the first 15 minutes, and noted the call came in as a dwelling fire.

He added they held the call to Palmerton Fire Department only, and canceled the response from Aquashicola, Bowmanstown and Diamond Fire Company of Walnutport once they recognized there wasn’t a major concern.

Behler said this particular incident is “not something you come across very often.”

“It just reminds you of the dangers of these types of storms that come through the area,” he said. “When you hear the warnings, you should probably seek shelter when you know there is a strong threat of storms coming through.”