At least 16 people were displaced after a fire tore through an apartment building in Ossining, New York, where officials suspect a lightning strike during a storm sparked the flames Friday night. The fire happened at the Parth Knolls apartment complex. At least one building is expected to be a to tal loss, said Town Supervisor Liz Feldman. No injuries were reported as of the time the crew left the scene around 2 a.m. Neighbors reported hearing what sounded like an explosion during the storm and said the fire broke out minutes later. “We were just sitting, watching TV and saw some lightning. Then, it was a large strike of lightning, lit up the whole house,” Larry Partelow told NBC New York.  “And then a big boom afterwards.  So I can only assume it hit the house.” “Well, we said ‘it sounded like it hit something.’ It was that close,” another neighbor added. Firefighters from across Westchester County battled the flames for at least six hours, according to Ossining Fire 2nd Asst. Chief Joseph Rinaldi. Rinaldi said the call came in at 6:58 p.m.after the planned Ossining Fire Dept. Parade was canceled due to weather.  He said the initial call was for a possible lightning strike and smoke, and crews found heavy smoke on the roof when they arrived. Police and firefighters quickly searched the building and evacuated at least six families. He said fire then immediately started coming through the roof. There are 24 apartments in the building. The building next to it was also emptied out because of smoke and the proximity. Rinaldi said there was a water pressure issue, so crews used tankers and pond water. Town inspectors and insurance inspectors were expected at the scene today, and the building inspector and fire officials were also set to return to determine next steps, according to officials. Rinaldi said it would be up to engineers to determine whether people can go back inside to retrieve belongings. Questions about working smoke alarms will be part of the investigation. A tenant told News 4 she didn’t hear anything and only saw smoke before she started knocking on doors. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less