Grandmother and 4-year-old have close call with lightning in Eastham

By Melissa M. Werthmann, Globe Correspondent

A 62-year-old grandmother and her 4-year-old granddaughter have been released from the hospital following a possible lightning strike in the Cape Cod town of Eastham this morning, Fire Chief Glenn Olson said.

Firefighters responded to a call at 10:16 a.m. about a person struck by lightning at 17 Marions Way and found the woman and child had injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said in a statement.

The two victims were evaluated by EMS and taken by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital and have since been released.

“We wanted to make sure they were cleared at the hospital,” Olson said.

He said he received another call around 2:30 p.m. that neighbors on Marions Way had found damage to their home, which appeared to be from a lightning strike.

Firefighters are on scene assessing the damage, and Olson believes the grandmother and granddaughter were injured as a result of the nearby strike.

“We are surmising that they obviously did not take a direct hit ... which is very fortunate,” Olson said. “It would suggest that the house got hit nearby them. It certainly could jolt you a lot.”

The family of the victims originally told firefighters that the pair was injured when lightning struck the grandmother’s umbrella as she was carrying the child into the house during a torrential downpour, Olson said.

While the cause of the incident is “still up in the air,” Olson said suggesting that the umbrella was directly hit by a lightning bolt is “reaching.”

“They were certainly very close to the lightning strike nearby, but a direct lightning strike to the umbrella would have had a much worse outcome for both of the patients,” he said.