A bolt of lightning which struck near his Ohangai home south-east of Hawera on Saturday night has put the 36-year-old local school caretaker on edge.
He was using the family computer with earphones on, his daughter Leah standing next to him, when there was a huge flash in the middle of a storm.
"I felt a shock which was 20 times worse than an electric fence pulse," he said. "I felt it hit my heart. I was worried it might stop beating," the Tiri Rd man said.
"It went through me, through the couch and into my wife Ellen who was sitting on the couch. "That type of excitement is the last thing Ellen needs as she is 13 weeks pregnant.
A tiny bared section of headphone lead wire and a blown light bulb appear the only damage. However, the bolt about 7.45pm blew a fuse in the transformer up the road.
Paul King, electrical manager of Greaves Electrical, says a huge amount of energy is released in a lightning strike and its behaviour is never predictable.
"It will take the easiest direct path to earth, but in a house some of it can spread through the whole wiring system.
0 comments:
Post a Comment