CENTER TWP — A family is picking up the pieces after fire Wednesday night damaged their log home on Spring Run Road.

“This was our dream house,” John Manson said Thursday as he inspected the damage and sorted through belongings that could be salvaged.

“Last night was shock,” he said. “Today, reality set in again.”

Fire officials blamed a lightning bolt for causing the blaze about 7:30 p.m., as heavy storms rolled through Butler County.

Manson and his wife, Beth, his stepdaughter and nearly 3-year-old granddaughter were home but all — including the family's two dogs — got out safely.

A volunteer firefighter for one of eight responding departments had to be taken to the hospital to be examined for overexertion, authorities said.

Damage to the two-story home, which was insured, was estimated at $150,000.

The 58-year-old Manson was home in his first-floor office going through paperwork for the Starlight Drive-In on Route 8 in Center Township that he and his wife own when he felt the lightning hit.

Apparently so did everyone else in the neighborhood.

“The neighbors said it shook them inside their houses,” Manson recounted.

It appeared the bolt of lightning hit the roof of the porch in back of the house, said Nathan Wulff, chief of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department, and traveled down a pillar, igniting tires under the deck.

Manson rushed outside in the torrential rain and found that the force of the lightning had shattered the pillar. He deployed a dry chemical fire extinguisher and put out the fire coming from the porch.

But then his eyes glanced upward and he realized there was bigger trouble.

“I looked up,” he said, “and saw the roof on fire.”

He yelled to his wife to call 911.

“We found heavy smoke pouring from the rear side of the roof,” Wulff said. “We saw fire in the eaves and overhangs pretty much on the whole back side of the house.”

Putting out the fire proved to be challenging in part due to the tongue-and-groove roof boards.

“The house was built very well,” Wulff said, “and it was extremely difficult to get to the fire.”

Firefighters deployed a number of ladders to access the roof, cutting and breaking holes in it to vent smoke and snuff out the blaze.

It took about two hours, Wulff noted, before the fire was brought under control.

The blaze made its way into one upstairs bedroom but most of the interior damage was due to smoke and the large amount of water used to put out the blaze.

Crews had to endure extreme weather conditions — heavy rains and humidity — during the fire fight.

The Butler Ambulance Service set up a tarp to serve as a makeshift rehabilitation area for firefighters to cool down and rehydrate.

Bottled water and wet towels were provided and medics checked firefighters' vitals — heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and pulse.

One firefighter from an assisting department suffered “complications from exertion,” Wulff said, and was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for evaluation. Officials did not identify the man.

Firefighters managed to rescue a number of sentimentally valuable items from the house including wedding rings and pictures off the walls. They also were able to save prescription medication, guns and other items.

The Butler Chapter of the American Red Cross was notified and a representative arrived to assist the family, who spent the night at a nearby motel.

Manson returned to his damaged home Thursday. He spent most of the day assessing the damage and looking for any other belongings to reclaim.

“It will need a total gutting,” he said, “and a new roof.” But he described the house as “structurally sound.”

The original owner, Manson bought the house in 2006. Since then, he said, he and his family have racked up countless memories.

Asked if he plans to rebuild, he replied, “That's the plan.”

Assisting the Unionville VFD were firefighters from Oneida Valley, East Butler, Chicora, West Sunbury, Butler Township Fire Distinct 3, Slippery Rock and Herman.