Goodbye Chairs and Lightning Statement

I visited Servpro in Bow again to assess the level of damage to our upholstered furniture.  They cleaned two of the big comfy chairs and they still seemed to have a faint indescribable odor.  They and all of the upholstered furniture and cushions are being considered a loss.  That is also true for the staff chairs.  You don't even want to know what Karen's chair looked like...

Hopkinton Town Library

Lightning Protection

September 13, 2018

Following the fire at the Hopkinton Town Library, there have been questions about lightning protection on the Library. We can assure you that the Library, like all town buildings, meets all required building codes.  There is no current New Hampshire code requirement for lightning protection, nor did one exist in 1997 when the Hopkinton Town Library was built. Lightning protection is also not part of the National Electric Code (NEC) in New Hampshire.

We have been discussing the pros and cons of lightning protection with our contractors and insurance company. We have learned that a single weathervane, if grounded, could likely have caused damage beyond what was experienced, as the wire would have been significantly overloaded by the strike. A more complex lightning protection system, consisting of a series of heavy gauge wires connecting multiple lightning rods to multiple grounding rods, does exist, but such systems are used primarily for power plants, towers, spires, smoke stacks, and aviation related structures. According to our insurance adjuster, even such a robust lightning protection system would be no guarantee against damage from a lightning strike.

As we plan for the reconstruction of the new library space, we will be paying close attention to safety and energy conservation measures.  We welcome comments and questions.