Indoor Pool and Lightning

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A few years back I had a customer had a tree in his yard split in half by lightning. The tree was toward the back of the house on the same side as the service which was toward the front. The lightning made a burrow like an animal directly to his 200 amp panel and fried it. Another customer about a 1/2 mile away had the gfi's in her detached garage pop. If the pool is inside I guess it's far enough way for all that to be absorbed.
 
In my opinion, there are too many variables to make an all-inclusive and universal rule for indoor swimming facilities and lightning. It's very difficult to explain or prove a negative or find evidence in absence. We have the same problem with proving the effectiveness of GFCIs, AFCIs, and TR receptacles.

Take for instance the fact that the CPSC has not reported a single injury or death as a result of a lightning strike to an indoor swimming facility. Is that true because it is safe to swim indoors during a storm or is because people get out of indoor pools during storms so injury and death is not likely to occur. If we were to change that policy and say swimming at indoor pools is safe, would the occurrence of injury and death start to rise? Why take that chance?

Sometimes, safety rules and safety equipment need to be seen as an insurance policy. None of us want to get sick, in a car accident, or electrocuted. So, we have insurance polices to protect against those "what-ifs" in life. We all agree that rules should not be placed in the code based on what-ifs unless there is compelling evidence the absence of at that rule has led to loss of life or property. Many of our current code rules are based on the premise that something bad is likely to occur in the future but not necessarily guaranteed to occur.

The same holds true for lightning safety.

I feel this quote from the NLSI white paper sums it up nicely:

There is a built-in conflict between indoor pool activities and lightning safety. Both recreational swimming and competitive swimming events are based upon three icons of Entertainment, Health, and Pleasure. Lightning safety is founded on stopping all those forms of enjoyment. A Risk Management/Safety Professional will err on the side of caution every time and will be found harmless from allegations or claims of negligence. Such a conservative approach will find many objectors. Safety, however, is the prevailing directive.
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I too feel that this information is lacking enough evidence for exactly the reason Bryan mentioned-- people tend to get out of pools during lightning events. I was quite surprised to read this article which seems to say it is okay....

Gerry I also have seen lightning hit outside and travel into the room of the panel. It blew a hole through the concrete slab but somehow avoided damage to the panel.
 
Without data you could just as easily argue that it is more hazardous to be standing on the pool deck or in the locker room than to be in the water.
The only safe option is to go home, climb into bed and pull the covers up over your head until the storm is over. Just be sure not to walk, drive, or take public transportation to get there.
 
I've heard of people around here getting hit by lightning while loading/ unloading a dishwasher, while playing video games (and the EMT's got hit while rescuing the kids), doing all kinds of things.

I find it odd that Mike Holt (a Florida guy) is going to stick his neck out saying any activity is not a lightning risk.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I, also, was surprised that Mike said what he did. I wonder if that could be a liability issue
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I followed the link, but I don't seen where Mike personally made a comment.

All the comments I do see are basically opinions, so I don't see any liability.

I did notice both of the linked articles stated:

“In fact, a pool closure policy is in violation of the National Electric Code section 250.4(A)(1) and you will be subject to regulatory enforcement.” Dr. Weiss adds that facility operators must understand they are breaking the law by closing indoor pools."

That's crazy, and there might be some liability there.

They also stated the NEC requires lighting protection systems for buildings with indoor pools?? I don't think that is true. P
 
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