Lightning caused house fires
 

Just curious. Is there any reliable data on what percentage of homes that suffered damage from fires caused by a lightning strikes had lightning rods installed?

Probably just a few but no doubt many homes have experienced electrical outages and damage to electronics and appliances from nearby lightning strikes.

Couldn't find statistics but this presentation by the Villages Computer Club stated " it has been empirically
proven that a lightning protection system installed in
full conformance to
NFPA
-
780
requirements
DOES
prevent damage to structures."

Seeing firsthand a fire from lightening a few months back, even if it decreases the odds of fire exponentially, it's a good thing to have.

To me, it's more of a peace of mind thing to me. I feel better knowing I did all I could to prevent damage than to wonder what might have been.

Last Saturday night a home in Miona Shores was stuck and the ensuing fire caused it to be uninhabitable. This is the fourth home this year and the seventh in the last 15 months that has received extensive damage due to a direct lightning strike. None had a lightning protection system (LPS) commonly called lightning rods. We have reports now from 14 homeowners with a LPS who have been struck without any structural damage or fire. To learn about LPS and related lightning issues consider enrolling in the Lifelong Learning College class,, Lightning Tips for Villagers, on August 27th or October 1st.

Anyone living in the "Lightning capital of the world" is remiss not to have a lightning protection system.

http://kpho.images.worldnow.com/images/19014128_BG1.jpg

One question from an owner of a house south of 466A with no gas lines in the attic, have any of the new houses with no gas to the house had fires caused by lightning?

The gas lines are not causing the fires. That would likely cause an explosion!

There was a Premiere with a 5 car garage near me in Pinellas last Sept?? that was totaled by a lightning caused fire. No one hurt but the house had to be rebuilt.

CSST is not able to withstand the electrical charge dissipated by lightning strikes due to its corrugated design and thin walls, according to reports. As a result, in the event that CSST becomes energized due to a direct or indirect lightning strike, the current will “arc” or jump across a gap to a less resistant pathway, such as nearby metal piping, in an attempt to reach the ground. Although the arc will only last a fraction of a second, it has been alleged that the temperature of the event is hot enough to melt and penetrate the thin walls of the CSST. If the gas line melts or is punctured, the gas inside can escape and cause a fire.

Our attorneys believe that the thin walls of CSST put properties at risk for fire-related damage. It is estimated that the walls of CSST measure at a mere .011 inches, 10 times thinner than the walls of traditional black iron pipes. It has been alleged that unlike CSST, the walls of traditional black iron pipes are generally thick enough to withstand the energy produced during a lightning strike. CSST was developed in the early 1980s in Japan and was introduced into the U.S. market as an easier-to-install alternative to black iron pipes in the 1990s.

- See more at: CSST Lawsuits | CSST Lightning Fires and Failures | Morgan & Morgan

Of the seven homes struck by lightning in the last 15 months 4 had gas and 3 were all electric homes. Lightning is random and unpredictable.

Thanks for that information.

Would a fire suppression system be a better investment than a lightning protection system? Could a direct hit still start a fire with lightning protection installed?

Theoretically it would be possible to install an automatic fire sprinkler system throughout the home and the attic space. I don't know of cases where it has been done. It would be very expensive. If your concern is with lightning then you may wish to consider a lightning protection system that shuts a direct lightning strike directly to ground without starting a fire.

Update on my experience with lightning rods. Shortly after we moved here 13 years ago the lightning started to freak me out. Stupidly a guy in a truck came around saying he had been installing lighting rods on some of our neighbors homes. Back then there weren't all these resources to find out more into and I was so paranoid, we said ok and had it done for $600. Since then with all these threads on it here and on Facebook I started questioning what we had done. Figuring it probably wasn't to code so today we had A1 Lightning protection come out and check it out. Yep not to code and actually dangerous they way it was done. (I have the gas lines in the attic) We called Triangle which people here have mentioned and I was pout off by the fact they would not come out and talk to us to check our system without charging us $150 to do so! They gave us a quote over trephine no even telling us what exactly they would do! A1 Lightning Protection came out at NO charge and inspected everything. Their quote to put in a new copper system including my birdcage and do proper grounding of everything $1550 less than what Triangle quoted on the phone. A1 said they could bring our current system up to code for $800 but we feel it's worth the extra money to go copper all the way (except for the birdcage which cannot be copper.) Just thought I would let everyone know in case your considering the rods.