Seems like a LOT of lightning these days. (Or better reported?)
 

We can only guess. It PROBABLY wouldn't have been so flammable if it didn't have gas lines in the attic, but I understand that is code in Florida..

We have had some bad hits recently here in West Chester too, (more than usual).

It really is scary.

Very lucky
 

That's one of the reasons I DON"T LIKE GAS.When we looked at our house we didn't want gas.Your right FD had to wait for gas to be shut off. back home there were curb side shut offs for gas, most gas lines ran into the basement, not having a basement the only other choice is direct burried ridgid plastic which is what they're doing on Long Island now. They used to use the black pipe but that rusts over time. Why they don't do direct burried here I don't know. After spending 42 years as a fireman I have a lot of respect for gas. Have seen many a home and buisnesses destroyed. Lightening is another big problem and your right nothing stops a direct hit. Thank the good lord nobody was home at the time a home can be replaced.

:shrug: Why not shut off the gas at the meter, which is above ground by the house. Only takes 1/4 turn. Same place where gas company shuts it off for inhouse repairs or to lock it off for non-payment. Check it out if you have gas just so that you know where to shut it off in an emergency. All you need is a crescent wrench or large pliers.

Seems as though newest homes are all-electric and do not have gas available. Is this true?

Chuck,

It is true - there are no more gas homes being built in TV. Many of us have added LP for stoves, grills, pools, etc.

Thanks for the info.
 

Thanks for letting me know why I saw all the fireman standing around. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they seemed to be doing nothing. I knew there had to be a good reason. I have the utmost respect for firefighters and I knew there had to be a good reason.

Yes, all new homes are electric and this is probably why. I really didn't want electric at first, but this is the second home we've seen destroyed by lightening, so I'm very happy with electric now.

I wonder is something can be done about those gas lines running through the attics. It just doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do even from the onset! :shrug:

According to the article in the Daily Sun, the firefighters got out of the house because it was too dangerous and since the house was empty their safety came first.

Went by the house--WOWEE!

What surprises me is how close houses were on either side and it doesn't appear to have done any damage to them.

GMONEY - I found the following excerpt from the article to be extremely important.
"No lightning protection system can be relied upon to "contain" or "control" lightning completely (nor thus far, to prevent lightning strikes), but they do seem to help immensely on most occasions of lightning strikes"

A properly installed LPS will mitigate much of the damage potentially caused by lightning. A google of pictures of lightning strikes will show many pictures of tall buildings being directly struck by lightning. So structures do get hit, and all of these tall buildings are built with LPS. So you can draw the conclusion they do in fact work, although nothing is ever gauranteed. One site I found says the Empire State Building gets hit directly between 50 and 100 times per year. And I've not heard of it being dammaged.

I had a system installed on my home in TV last year right after the house in Sunset Pointe got destroyed. My system includes specific grounding for the gas lines in the attic and the gas main, as well as the normal "rods" on the roof. I hope to never be able to tell you it worked or it didn't - but on the off chance that it would work to mitigate damage, the investment seemed minor. Frankly, I can't understand why everyone in TV doesn't get one installed. In my entire life I've heard of a few trees being hit, maybe a neighborhood transformer, but since last year, I've seen 3 strikes that destroyed 1 home and severly damaged the others, and heard about 2 or 3 more. So the Lightning Capital of the World (as Central FL is sometimes called) lives up to its name.

Look around - the fire house on Buena Vista at Liberty Park, and most of the buildings in LSL have protection. All the airports have them. All the major municipal buildings have them. Why would they have them if they don't work?

Cost of that system
 

What was the approximate cost for that protection and who did you hire to do it? More details appreciated....thanks.

Lightning Rods
 

SMALL DOG SEZ
Since ole Ben Franklin came up with the idea, nobody is completely sure if the lightning rods protect or attract and may indeed do both in a given storm :shrug: .............. Florida is the lightning capital of the world so you best learn to live with it :crap2: .............. a active storm cell win our vicinity will pop the GFI breakers in our houses ....... now my apology seems there is a shut off at the meter ( could not imagime otherwise but foolishly didnot check) ...... gas lines in the attic is simply poor design & dangerous & a cheap expedient .........

Small Dog.................Check my previous entry. There is a shutoff at the meter and it only requires a 1/4 turn with a crescent wrench or pliers. Check it out as it could save you headaches in the future.

SECO can do the system for the house also. But they will tell you up front, it will not protect from a direct strike. This is from SECO's websiteon the home surge protecton system.

"5. Will it protect me from something as severe as a direct lightning strike?
No!- nothing is a complete guarantee from a direct lightning strike. Lightning has been
measured well in excess of 250,000 amps. No SPD device currently available can
effectively handle such high surge energy."

I have seen mutliple buildings with Protection with big burn marks and burnt down even with Protection installed. If it is a direct Hit, nothing will help.
We had a hit in our place yesterday. neighbor house got struck. messed the lania up pretty good.

Turning off the Gas Meter
 

I have been a firefighter for 30 plus years -
standard procedure is to use a spanner wrench, it has a special slot in it, to turn off gas at meter- - most firefighters carry one in a pocket
my guess on their tactics was it became untenable inside so they backed out and went into defensive mode - sometime you simply can not get it from inside because of the chance of collapse - personnel safety, if no life in danger, is the primary responsibility of any fire officer and crew - it is dangerous enough without trying to showboat,
Peace

our meters are outside as we don't have cellars. Tough to get used to not having one but getting used to living on a slab.

Do you have a house?