The roof took a direct hit and caused
$215,000 worth of damage. Fortunately the owners were not home.
Inside the house was gutted, most floors and walls had to be replaced due to the
lightning putting hundreds of holes in the water pipes and causing extensive water damage.
All of the electric wires had to be replaced, there were hundreds of burned spots on the
wires that arced through the insulation. The chimneys and foundation suffered severe
structural damage. The only thing salvageable was the shell! Look closely at the middle
chimney, it had to be strapped with plywood to keep it from falling down. |
THE ROOF IS MISSING!!!
This unnecessary loss could have been prevented vith LIGHTNING
RODS!
$215,000 of damage from a LIGHTNING BOLT... |
On this house, Photo # 1 Shows minor
exterior damage, but inside it's a different story.... |
Photo #2 shows the main electric panel on the floor, all
wiring and everything that was plugged in was very severly burned and melted. Fortunately
the owner was in an upstairs bedroom away from electrical equipment. |
| This house was built in the 50's and its value
is (was) about $75,000. The damage caused by Lightning was estimated to be over
$50,000. In picture # 3 you
will see where the old electric panel used to be (the new one is now in place). Notice the
soot near the ceiling on the wall. As the owner went into the basement, the ceiling
was in flames...the lightning jumped to the cold water pipe and put holes in
it. She watched as the water spraying from the pipe PUT THE FIRE OUT! All
plumbing had to be replaced.
Look at the washtub. Lightning followed around the fiberglass tub to get to
the hot water pipe. Testing revealed that there was no connection between the hot and cold
water pipes.
|
