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4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 18, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Family grateful no one was hurt Continued from page 1 SABRINA BYRNES /SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER UNWANTED SKYLIGHT: A lightning bolt tore a jagged 10-foot hole in the roof when it hit the Chatsworth Avenue home of Mark and Michelle Worton. . TREAT YOUR FEET SEE A PODIATRIST! FREE CONSULTATION Saturday, May 26th Physician referral not required! May is Foot Health Awareness Month and New Balance and the Ontario Podiatric Medical Association are teaming up to offer you FREE foot health advice. Visit any New Balance Toronto or Oakville store to have a Podiatrist answer your foot health questions. First come first serve, 10am to 5pm. quickly returned with a fire extinguisher. "He and I jumped into the bathroom and started squirting the fire extinguisher. It kind of filled the ensuite up with a yellow powdery haze so we had to run back into the bedroom to get a gasp of clean air before jumping back in," said Mark. "We managed to get it out." Besides the damage done to the bathroom, the lightening also caused a light fixture, in the room of the Worton's youngest daughter, Alexandra, to explode. "This shattered and there were shards of glass all over my daughter's bed so, it was a blessing that she was in bed with us at the time," said Mark. Moments after the lightening strike, the Oakville Fire Department arrived on the scene and proceeded to check the house for additional flare-ups. Removing ceiling tiles in the bathroom the firefighters revealed a jagged 10-foot hole that crisscrossed a section of the roof. The scorched wood around the hole provides observers with an idea of just how much power was thrown at the house Tuesday morning. "That tear in the roof is our unwanted skylight," joked Michelle. The fire department also has the house's power shut off while the structure is checked by experts to make sure the electrical system was not damaged. In the meantime, the Wortons are coping as best they can. "We don't have hot water or any power to cook, so the neighbours are allowing us to shower at their place," said Mark. "We've strung an extension cord from the neighbours through the back patio door to keep the fridge running, but as far as other meals are concerned we're doing the fast food thing." Despite this inconvenience and the cost of the damage, which could run as high as $50,000 if the roof has to be replaced, Michelle and Mark are considering themselves lucky the damage was not worse and that no one was injured. "This can all be fixed," said Michelle. "We're just happy that everybody's safe, no one got hurt and our house did not burn down." Mark is equally grateful for the safety of his family considering how close the lightening actually came to them. "When you look where that hit," he said pointing to the fan in the adjoining bathroom. "And we were here (in the bedroom) it's only a matter of 8-feet or 10-feet and it would have been right on top of us." The fear the Worton's children felt during the incident was not eased when another thunder and lightening storm began later that same day, however Michelle calmed them down with a few words of wisdom. "I tell them we're safe because lightening never strikes the same place twice." For Michelle the experience has been a real eyeopener of the need for families to take fire safety seriously. "Every household should have a fire extinguisher," she said. "Get one, because you never know." Community Garage Sale May 26 It's time to book space at Oakville's second annual Great Community Garage and Plant Sale to be held in the Town Hall parking lot on Saturday, May 26. Complete your spring clean up, get ready for your move or sell toys kids have outgrown at the sale to be held in the parking lot of Oakville Town Hall at 1225 Trafalgar Rd. Oakvillegreen Conservation Association Inc. takes care of the organizing and publicity and participants take home their profits. It costs $20 to operate a booth. The sale starts at 9:30 a.m. and wraps-up by 1 p.m. To book space or for more information, contact Oakvillegreen at oakvillegreen_mailer@yahoo.ca or call Liz at 905-257-0250. To contact The Ontario Podiatric Medical Association, visit www.opma.ca or call 416-927-9111, toll free 1-866-424-6762. 5 Oakville . W E. Q. 9 LE IDD ST RM PPEOAD EA UR The largest selection of New Balance apparel, accessories and footwear in multiple widths. 8 403 TH TH E LIN E LIN Upper Middle Rd E & 8th Line 905.337.9393 www.newbalanceoakville.ca