FIVE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, Sturbridge, Mass.
RETROFIT TEAM
LIGHTNING-PROTECTION EQUIPMENT INSTALLER: Smokestack Lightning Inc.
MATERIALS
Taking chances with lightning is a dangerous game. During Summer 2022, lightning struck the Orr’s Island Fire Station in Maine, damaging equipment and disrupting operations, including communication equipment on the tower behind the station. Not wanting to incur the same fate, Sturbridge representatives hired Smokestack Lightning Inc. to install lightning-protection equipment on five municipal buildings. The lightning-protection system installed in compliance with National Fire Protection Association lightning-protection requirements will prevent the damage and interruption of service at Sturbridge’s municipal buildings.
“The town reached out to us,” says Bill Simpson, president of Smokestack Lightning. “Their police and fire station are housed in a single location, and they realized they didn’t want to risk their entire infrastructure going down in a storm.”
There is simply no good time for a police or fire station to be offline. Ensuring that lightning protection is installed and properly maintained is a must for these facilities. Lightning is a severe-weather event that affects most areas of the U.S. frequently. However, lightning is overlooked in the vast majority of U.S. building codes.
LIGHTNING-PROTECTION EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER: East Coast Lightning Equipment
PHOTO: EAST COAST LIGHTNING EQUIPMENT