{"id":54,"date":"2016-05-11T02:44:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T02:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/?p=54"},"modified":"2016-05-11T02:50:44","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T02:50:44","slug":"lightning-related-structure-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/lightning-related-structure-fires\/","title":{"rendered":"Lightning Related Structure Fires"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.nafi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fotolia_81036482_S.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-55\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-55\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.nafi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fotolia_81036482_S-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"Fork lightning striking down during summer storm\" width=\"532\" height=\"274\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lightning Related Structure Fires<br \/>\nAndrew D. Ellison, CFEI<br \/>\nTimothy Morse, PhD, PE, CFEI<br \/>\nHarri Kytomaa, PhD, PE, CFEI<br \/>\nExponent, Inc., USA<\/p>\n<p>Presented at International Symposium on Fire Investigation, 2012<\/p>\n<p>ABSTRACT<br \/>\nFrom 2003-2007 over 4,000 structure fires were caused by lightning annually. These structure fires caused\u00a0a collective $241 million in damages each year. Lightning is considered a natural fire cause, and can damage both a\u00a0structure and its contents. This paper will provide a review of lightning-related fires, as well as investigative techniques to utilize when presented with a possible lightning incident.<\/p>\n<p>When lightning discharges to a structure, its energy seeks all available paths to ground. Therefore, lightning damage\u00a0can be located in multiple apparently unrelated locations throughout a home. These paths often involve continuous\u00a0conductive systems such as electrical wires, plumbing pipes, and ventilation ducts. As the electrical energy travels to\u00a0the electrical ground, it can also jump across significant air gaps between adjacent conductors, and break down\u00a0insulation.<\/p>\n<p>When investigating a fire caused by lightning discharges, it is important that the investigator document the scene\u00a0thoroughly. Particular attention should be given to metallic or conductive rooftop penetrations (plumbing vents,\u00a0heating system flue-pipes, chimney caps, etc.) which may have been the point of entry of the lightning strike. Often,\u00a0such components will demonstrate localized damage consistent with melting or other deformation which is\u00a0inconsistent with damage from the fire event. Furthermore, the investigator should investigate and document all\u00a0paths of electrical energy within the home that may exhibit evidence of lightning energy including those that may\u00a0involve the area(s) of origin of the fire. Paths for lightning energy to ground include branch circuit wiring systems,\u00a0plumbing systems, metallic structural components, telecommunications wires, etc. These paths typically include the\u00a0path from the point of entry of lightning to the area of origin as well as the path between the area of origin and the\u00a0electrical ground of the home.<\/p>\n<p>This paper will discuss the phenomenon of lightning and how lightning energy can enter a home and cause a fire. It\u00a0also discusses home construction factors that affect the likelihood of a lightning fire. This paper will conclude with\u00a0some recommended guidelines for fire investigators to consider when investigating an apparent lightning-caused\u00a0residential fire.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/pxkrmt8q0nh9p7k\/ISFI2012Proceedings_LightningStructure_TMorse_HKytomaa.pdf?dl=0\">Download the complete paper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lightning Related Structure Fires Andrew D. Ellison, CFEI Timothy Morse, PhD, PE, CFEI Harri Kytomaa, PhD, PE, CFEI Exponent, Inc., USA Presented at International Symposium on Fire Investigation, 2012 ABSTRACT From 2003-2007 over 4,000 structure fires were caused by lightning annually. These structure fires caused\u00a0a collective $241 million in damages each year. Lightning is considered &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/lightning-related-structure-fires\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Lightning Related Structure Fires<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nafi.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}