Lightning sparked a fire at an apartment building Thursday morning, fire officials have confirmed. Mason City Fire Marshal Jamey Medlin said the fire at Westside Manor Apartments, 2401 S. Taft Ave., was caused by a lightning strike earlier that morning. “We found a spot on the drip edge, a metal part under the shingles,” Medlin said. “There was some charring and melting there usually happens with a lightning strike.” The fire took a while to become noticeable, Medlin said, but noted it's not uncommon for a lightning-related fire to take awhile to start.