What to do if lightning strikes your house

01

What should you do first?[1][2]

Treat it as a possible structure fire. Lightning frequently ignites materials inside walls, roof spaces and attics where nothing is visible from the living area. If you smell smoke, hear crackling or see any sign of fire, evacuate and call the fire service.

Fire crews respond to lightning strikes specifically because concealed ignition is common. They carry thermal imaging cameras that can find a hot spot inside a wall cavity or under roof insulation long before it breaks through into open flame.

The dangerous assumption is that nothing happened because nothing looks wrong. A fire that started in the attic during the storm can take hours to become obvious, by which time it has had a long head start in the least accessible part of the building.

02

What should you check once it is safe?[1]

Work outward from the electrical panel. Check for tripped breakers and any burning smell at the panel, look at the roof, chimney and any exterior masonry for damage, and inspect appliances and outlets for scorching before using them.

Electrical panel

Burning smell, scorch marks or heat at the panel means an electrician before you re-energise anything

Attic and roof space

The most common concealed ignition point. Look and smell, ideally with a torch

Roof, chimney, gable ends

Displaced tiles, cracked masonry and blown-out mortar mark strike entry points

Outlets and switches

Scorching or discolouration means the surge travelled through that circuit

Plumbing

Current through pipes can pinhole them. Watch for slow leaks over the following days

Water heater and HVAC

Control boards are frequent casualties and can fail quietly rather than obviously

03

What about the electronics?[3]

Assume everything connected during the strike is suspect, including devices that still power on. A surge degrades components without destroying them outright, so equipment that survives the event can fail days or weeks later.

Unplug damaged items rather than testing them repeatedly. A device with compromised insulation or a partially failed power supply is a fire risk on its own, and switching it on again to see whether it works is exactly the wrong experiment.

Photograph everything before you move or discard it. Insurers generally want evidence of the damage in place, and a pile of disposed electronics is much harder to claim for than a documented one.

04

How do you handle the insurance claim?[1]

Report it promptly, document thoroughly and get a professional assessment. Lightning damage is covered by standard homeowner policies in most markets, but concealed electrical and structural damage needs an inspection report to substantiate.

The claim usually turns on demonstrating the strike happened. Detection network archives can show recorded strikes near your address at the relevant time, which is useful supporting evidence when the physical damage is subtle.

Get the electrical inspection regardless of the claim. Damaged wiring inside walls is a long-term fire risk that stays hidden, and it is the part of the damage least likely to announce itself.