June 10, 2004

Lightning strikes fire department headquarters

       As storms raced across the county, a large cell packed with high winds, heavy rains, and severe cloud-to-ground lightning pounded the northwest portion of White River Township.  The storm caused a lightning bolt to strike the radio tower at Station 53/Headquarters causing severe electrical damage to sensitive electronic equipment inside the building.  The tower was grounded, but lightning blew apart the lightning arrestors and made its way into the building anyway, destroying the main computer server, three PC's, the entire phone system, and other related equipment.  A tree and nearby light pole were also destroyed.   As the department's other crews were working other storm-related calls, the crew at Station 53 was standing by out in the bay area of the fire station when the lightning hit.  "It was a 'flash-boom' type of strike that directly hit the top of the radio tower", said Lieutenant Kevin Skipper who witnessed the incident.  Although the damage was severe, the department's capability to respond to emergency calls was not reduced.  See related story HERE.

     
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