By Bill Gustin
All photos courtesy of Miami-Dade (FL) Fire/Rescue
A lightning strike can reach three million volts and 30 thousand amps—that’s far more than the highest voltage transmission power line. Lightning is a leading cause of attic fires and can destroy a structure’s electrical service and circuits. ATF recently released an excellent video that examines how lightning energized corrugated stainless steel gas tubing, resulting in the line-of-duty deaths of fire officers in Maryland and Virginia.
- Firefighter Near Miss: Wire Down
- Construction Concerns: Lightning Protection
- When Lightning Strikes: Expect More Than One Fire
Recently, Miami-Dade companies encountered three lightning-induced fires: two fires in a house with an attached garage and a third fire in a separate structure on the property. The power surge followed the electrical service which started a fire in the meter can, spread across the underside of the garage roof in a bay between two rafters, and to the electrical panel located on the opposite wall. (Photo 1.)
The lieutenant of the first-arriving engine company is an experienced veteran fire officer who has learned from experience that when lightning strikes a structure to expect more than one fire. He explained to the occupant that every portion of the house had to be examined for additional fires. His suspicion was confirmed—a separate fire involved electrical equipment in a media room. (Photos 2 and 3.)
The power surge from the lightning also followed the electric service, blowing out a circuit breaker panel in a structure behind the main house, (Photo 4) starting a fire that destroyed an office. This was not an anomaly; it is all too common for lightning to ignite more than one fire in a structure and can start fires in other structures that share the same utility pole. At this fire, the officer checked the utility pole to see if it fed electrical services to nearby homes; fortunately, it did not. If it did, he would have been knocking on doors in the early morning hours to awaken residents, advising them that there could be a fire in their house.
BILL GUSTIN is a 49-year veteran of the fire service and a captain with Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue. He began his fire service career in the Chicago area and is a lead instructor in his department’s Officer Development Program. He teaches tactics and company officer training programs throughout North America. He is a technical editor and an advisory board member of Fire Engineering and FDIC International.