A Tuesday afternoon fire caused $100,000 damage to a Sturtevant Avenue triple-decker and left 20 people homeless.
Fire crews from Walpole, Westwood, Sharon, Foxboro and Norfolk helped fight blaze at 5 Sturtevant Ave. which authorities believe was ignited by lightning.
Norwood Police helped evacuate tenants before the fire crews arrived.
According to the fire department, Engine 3 Company found smoke coming from the attic. Crews knocked down the fire in about a half an hour, even though the fire did go to a second alarm, fire officials said.
According a report from the Norwood Fire Department, flames could be seen shooting out of the vents in one of the top floor apartments. The main body of the fire was in a "cock loft area" between the roof and the top floor apartments, the fire department said.
Norwood Ladder 1 put up the aerial platform so fire crews could ventilate the roof to improve firefighting. Crews performed overhaul operations while paying careful attention to the possibility of flare-ups from dropping embers in the balloon frame home, according to the fire department.
Crews from Dedham, Wrentham, and Stoughton provided station coverage.
The Red Cross was on hand to help the 20 people, from five apartments, displaced by the fire, the fire department said.
