Lightning strikes can damage indoor as well as outdoor

PHOENIX — A Valley family of five escaped a house fire Thursday that began with what fire officials believed was a lighting strike.

Rosie Romero with KTAR’s Rosie on the House said there’s little that can be done to protect a home from lightning beyond having a lightning-rod system in place. That will carry the charge from the high points on the house deep into the ground.

Romero said power surges are a threat to just about everything electrical in a home. Power goes out during heavy storms, but it’s when the power comes back up that computers, home entertainment systems, freezers and so on are vulnerable.

Don’t count on household surge protectors purchased at the store. They cannot protect against a real surge. That kind of protection comes at the hands of a professional.

“An electrician needs to get inside of your electric panel and put a restrictor in. So even before the power gets into your home, it’s captured and sent straight into the ground,” Romero said.