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Keep Your Property Safe From the Dangers of Lightning
9/26/2022 (Permalink)
If you are dealing with smoke or fire damage from a recent fire, call SERVPRO of Lowell to learn about a restoration solution for your issue.
House fires can be disastrous, but when you follow safety measures, you can usually ensure the safety of yourself and your family. However, while many house fires have manmade causes and are preventable, natural causes are also capable of sparking unintended flames and much more difficult to prevent.
In 2020 alone, there were over 70,000 damage claims related to lightning strikes. Although being personally struck by lightning isn’t very common, your home is much more susceptible to damage. When lightning does strike, it can blow out your power, destroy trees or even ignite a fire.
It’s predicted that lightning strikes around 6,000 times per minute. This makes the risk of lightning even more significant and we should all make a point to keep ourselves safe when a storm is on the way.
Lightning is a huge, bright bolt of electrical current that occurs between the clouds and the ground. While thunderstorms produce lightning, they can also strike during volcanic eruptions, severe wildfires and even intense snowstorms.
We relate lightning to extreme weather, but it can also strike on a clear and dry day. “Dry lightning” is created without rain and is capable of sparking wildfires. This means we need to make room for fire safety while we prepare for the dangers of storms.
Quite a lot of destruction, including fires, can result from a lightning strike on your property. The heat of the impact itself or an electrical surge brought on by it can both spark a fire.
It’s possible that a fire that results from a strike won’t be immediately evident as it will typically start in a place like your walls or up in your attic. As soon as you discover your home has been struck, look for burn marks, and call the fire department as soon as you spot any black spots or detect any smoke.
One of the greatest methods for avoiding lightning-related fire is to install a lightning rod. This metal pole can deflect the force of a lightning strike away from your house so that it is not directly affected by the heat and electrical current.
Lightning is a leading cause of wildfires and other outdoor fires. Different parts of the country experience varying “peak” seasons for lightning fires, but an estimated 9,000 fires are sparked each year due to lightning strikes.
Maintain a tidy yard free of deceased or dying trees and plants, and think about utilizing defensible zones to shield your house from the impact of lightning strikes. To notify you as soon as a fire starts, your home should also include smoke detectors on every floor.
If your home suffers from damage after a fire, our team can be on the scene ASAP. Our team is trained to take care of fire damage of any size, no matter the source. With years of training and the use of advanced technologies, we can restore your home as fast as possible.
Have you experienced smoke or fire damage in your home? Call us today to finish the restoration quickly.