OVER 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Let our team of professional lightning protection technicians provide you with the peace of mind knowing that your property is protected from the threat of lightning!

Without a designated path to reach ground, a lightning strike may choose to instead utilize any conductor available inside a house or building. This may include the phone, cable, or electrical lines, the water or gas pipes, or (in the case of a steel-framed building) the structure itself. Lightning usually will follow one or more of these paths to ground, sometimes jumping through the air via a side flash to reach a better-grounded conductor (watch animation above). As a result, lightning presents several hazards to any house or building:

• Fire- Fire can start anywhere the exposed lightning channel contacts, penetrates or comes near flammable material (wood, paper, gas pipes, etc) in a building - including structural lumber or insulation inside walls and roofs. When lightning follows electrical wiring, it will often overheat or even vaporize the wires, creating a fire hazard anywhere along affected circuits.
   
• Side flashes - Side flashes can jump across rooms, possibly injuring anyone who happens to be in the way. They can also ignite materials such as a gasoline can in a garage.
   
• Damage to building materials - The explosive shock wave created by a lightning discharge can blow out sections of walls, fragment concrete and plaster, and shatter nearby glass.
   
• Damage to appliances - Televisions, VCRs, microwaves, phones, washers, lamps and just about anything plugged into an affected circuit may be damaged beyond repair. Electronic devices and computers are especially vulnerable.

Adding a protection system doesn't prevent a strike, but gives it a better, safer path to ground. The air terminals, cables and ground rods work together to carry the immense currents away from the structure, preventing fire and most appliance damage: