Many years ago on my way home, just one block down the street, the pole-mounted transformer was aflame and the fire department had already arrived and were setting up their equipment to deal with it. After detouring around the scene, my neighbors told me they believed it was struck by lightning on that stormy night, although the loud boom and the loss of power to the neighborhood could also have been the transformer or its fuse exploding.

Seeing as the fire department was already attending, and not having any additional concerns about the transformer itself, I went inside my dark home to find a flashlight -- this was before smartphones were a thing -- and then checked to make sure there wasn't any obvious electrical damage in every room. Finally, since flashes of lightning has been seen earlier that evening, as a precaution, I decided to flip off the main breaker and called it a night.

In the morning, waking up to no electricity, I at least had daylight and went to turn on the breaker. And indeed my home powered up, as if nothing had happened. I then went on with the rest of my day, driving past the scene where both the fire department and electrical utility must have toiled in the rain to clean up and restore service.

That was years ago and I've not experienced such an event again. But apart from making sure that your electric appliances aren't damaged, there isn't much else to do once the fire department and utility are alerted. Instead, I would advise general emergency preparedness, and avoiding common sources of mishaps, such as lighting candles and open-flames during a blackout.