It was a considered a labor of love for a Soddy Daisy family, a home built from the ground up by a father and his son.

Now all that's left is piles of glass and charred wood after a lightning strike causes the Hamby Road home to go up in flames.

"The whole upstairs is gone. We were able to salvage a little bit from upstairs, the downstairs isn't burnt but the water damage is unreal," said Angela Poole.

A reality that shows just how strong and unpredictable mother nature can be.

"My neighbor was beating on my back door and told me the house was on fire so we run outside and it was my brother's house that was on fire," said Poole.

Inside, shattered glass litters the floor.

If you stop and take a look from the street, a home that was built by a father and son more than 30 years ago is a total loss.

"I was in shock. It took me six tries to dial his phone number," said Poole.

Firefighters say a lightning strike sparked the fire. One that spread quickly, destroying the second story in only a matter of minutes.

"It doesn't take long. When you have insulation and you've got dry wood, they are just perfect incinerates for increasing the amount of fire to go through the roof line so it's just a matter of minutes I would say," said Amy Maxwell with Hamilton County EMS.

James Newman works as a truck driver and was out of town.He wasn't able to see how much damage the fire caused until he pulled up to his front door.

While he may have lost more than half of his belongings, he's grateful no one was hurt.

"Glad I wasn't here. It could have been worse, we could have died in it," said Newman.

Newman says the family does have insurance and plans to rebuild.

by Alyssa Spirato

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