lightening rod

[luv2nascar]

I am in a very somber mood due a bad storm here two nights ago
after the storm passed driving home from in laws I saw the most dreadful thing
a brand new house about a 1/2 mile from our 1 year old home was struck by lightening and was on fire
I knew even in the dark it wasn't good and prayed for the family that lived there
I drove by that house today in the day light and it is completely ruined, barely standing. Roof and attic are gone along with 90% of the 2nd floor. Entire inside of the house is pitch black from smoke and fire. Every window, screen, window frame and door frame are broken, shattered or worse.
These people only lived there for a few months.
Our old home had a lightening rod on the roof and I'm really starting to think we should have one installed on this roof. We live in a home owners association and would have to get approval but I think I need one to feel safe.
Our old home was struck by lightening while we were in the house in the day time and my DH and I watched the orange ball of fire go down our house into the ground. Our lightening rod did exactly what it is supposed to do. I was never so scared in all my life. We ran to the attic to check the roof or house wasn't on fire.
When I was about 8 yrs old our house was struck by lightening but we were not home. Only the roof caught on fire and burned a large hole in the roof 8-10 feet around. Firemen put that our before it got worse.
Does any body else have one on their house? Or am I being paranoid.

 

[MdmMim]

We had them installed years ago when lightening got into our wiring, zapped our TV, burned out a light fixture, and cracked a plate in half, which was near a lamp. That was enough for us! We live on a hill surrouned by huge, old trees, and the rods make me feel safer. They were only needed a few times, but I'm glad they're ready when the storms roll in.

 

[loisg1]

We have lived in our present house as the original owner for 11 years. We had rods installed when folks around here were getting their electronics fried. One house was eventually hit and had some fire damage back in '95. Sunday night the storms that rolled through were quite severe and must have hit very close because the smoke detectors started going off but no fire. Another house burned two blocks away a few years ago, and when they rebuilt they did not put rods up. Yet another house about a mile away burned two weeks ago due to lightening.

Some folks have the wrong concept about rods, but I'd not hesitate to have them installed again.

Now my concern is the rain getting into the basement which it was starting to do yesterday. We're having nasty storms forecast for the area through at least this week with really heavy downpours.

Stay safe!
Lois

 

[Needs Motivation]

Very timely post, considering that as I'm typing this we're getting another display of lightening. I don't know how many nights in a row this has been, but it's been going strong. We don't have lightening rods installed; I guess I'm counting on the surrounding tall pines to take the hit.
Anybody see that bad fire at the Jim Beam warehouse in Kentucky? I believe they attributed that to lightening.

 

[DocRafiki]

I've been thinking about that a lot lately, and I would definitely have them if I owned my home. I'm most worried about having my dogs caught in a fire when I'm not here. Some guy on the local news was explaining how you really need more than just simple lightning rods, and they showed this schematic of all this underground business that he recommended. I wonder if just a simple lightning rod would be worth putting up for my time here as a renter.