Lightning Rod Insurance for our School: Lightning Strike Kills 18 Children in School

Posted On June 30, 2011

Lightning Strike Kills 18 Children in School. Uganda. How did that happen? Were they high up in the mountains? Did they not have lightning rods to protect them? That may have been a tragic oversight. One that we have to investigate in our own children’s school. Lightning rod insurance.

A LIGHTNING strike at a primary school in western Uganda has killed 18 students and injured 50.

Lightning hit Runyanya primary school in Kiryandongo district, about 225km northwest of Kampala, killing 15 girls and three boys yesterday, police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/lightning-kills-18-kids-at-primary-school

Our kids’ school is high up in the hills. I remember at the start of school last year when it was new that their power transformer was struck by lightning which delayed school opening. Now that the kids are there, it may be more dangerous.

I remember now when I was around 6 years old in kindergarten lightning struck the grounds of our rectangular grass play area and I was thrown by it. Meaning, we were all lucky and no one was hurt.

Okay. Must investigate lightning rod insurance for our kids’ school.

Found a nice commercial site with a great Frequently Asked Questions section:

1. What is lightning protection?
2. What gets installed?
3. How does lightning protection work?
4. What is surge suppression? Why is it part of a lightning protection system?
5. Will lightning rods attract lightning to my building?
6. There are tall trees and higher homes near me. Won’t they protect my building from lightning?
7. Lightning never strikes the same place twice, right?
8. Is lightning protection proven science?
9. Our electrician says our home is grounded. Does that protect us from lightning damage?
10. Will lightning protection look unsightly on my building?
11. When is the best time to install lightning protection on my building?
12. How long will my lightning protection system last?
13. Can we install lightning protection ourselves? Can our electrician or builder install it?
14. Will I get a discount on my homeowners or commercial insurance if I have lightning protection installed?
15. How do I choose a company to install my lightning protection system?
16. Our building has an existing lightning protection system. Can you check it for us and update it if necessary?
17. Is lightning protection as important today as it used to be?
18. Won’t my insurance cover any lightning damage to my building?
19. How do I get a quotation for a lightning protection system?
20. Someone told me they can install one, big lightning rod on my building and it will “deflect lightning” away from my building and provide protection for acres around. Does it work?
21. Do you provide references from your previous customers?
22. Where can I find more information about lightning in general?
23. I have more questions. Will you answer them?

So it seems lightning rod insurance is well established technology. If we don’t have one in our own school, we must install one or more. Time to chip in.