Joe Biden retells story of house fire he claims almost killed Jill, his cat and destroyed his Corvette for the SEVENTH time...even though blaze was far smaller

Joe Biden has repeated an exaggerated story about how a house fire in 2004 almost killed his wife Jill, their cat and destroyed his Corvette - even though the blaze was far smaller. 

The president, 81, shared the claim as he was campaigning in Michigan on Thursday for the upcoming presidential election. 

He told a crowd the fire department once 'saved my wife, saved my cat, and saved my Corvette' while fighting a blaze at his Delaware home following a lightning strike.

But Biden's home suffered a 'small fire that was contained to the kitchen', according to reports at the time and firefighters managed to get it under control in just 20 minutes.

He has now told the exaggerated tale at least seven times as president, including in August after the devastating Hawaii wildfires which killed 101 people.

Joe Biden has repeated an exaggerated story about how a house fire he suffered in 2004 almost killed his wife Jill, their cat and destroyed his Corvette even though the blaze was far smaller

The president, 81, has told the tale at least seven times as president including in August after the devastating Hawaii wildfires which killed 101 people

Biden repeated the exaggerated story to a small group of people in Michigan during his campaign trail. 

He sparked controversy after he told it during a visit to Hawaii in August when the state suffered the deadliest wildfire recorded in US history. 

'I don't want to compare difficulties but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it's like to lose a home,' Biden said. 

'Years ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing Meet The Press, it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside our home - not a lake, a pond.' 

He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating ducts, and into the kitchen.

'To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.

Biden repeated the exaggerated story to a small group of people in Michigan during his campaign trail

He told the crowd that the fire department once 'saved my wife, saved my cat, and saved my Corvette' while fighting a blaze at his Delaware home following a lightning strike

'But all kidding aside - I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.'

It is an anecdote that Biden often tells at times of tragedy and he made similar comments to Hurricane Idalia victims in August.

While in March, at a conference for firefighters, he said: 'Lightning struck in a pond behind my house, went up underneath the conduit, and caught the — caught fire underneath the floorboards of my house. 

'It was during the summer. Air conditioning was on. Smoke that thick all three stories.

'My fire company was there to go in and save my wife, get her out; the cat; and my ’67 Corvette.' 

Biden sparked controversy after he told it during a visit to Hawaii in August after the state suffered the deadliest wildfire recorded in US history  

While in October 2021, he made the bizarre claim that they almost lost a couple of firefighters in the kitchen fire. Pictured: Biden speaking during a visit to the Philadelphia Fire Department in December   

But in October 2021, he made the bizarre claim that they almost lost a couple of firefighters in the kitchen fire. 

'We almost lost a couple firefighters, they tell me, because the kitchen floor was — the — burning between beams in the house, in addition to almost collapsed into the basement,' he said at a summit on fire prevention. 

In November 2021, he told an infrastructure event: 'I know, having had a house burn down with my wife in it — she got out safely, God willing — that having a significant portion of it burn, I can tell: 10 minutes makes a hell of a difference.' 

However the accounts of Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn are much less dramatic. 

'Luckily, we got it pretty early,' he said at the time. 'The fire was under control in 20 minutes.'

Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke but were able to keep the flames contained to the kitchen.