Our hearts go out to the entire community:
Very tragic story!
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That is a very tragic story.
We have the lightning detector system set up in Barrington. If any of the sensors in town go off, they all go off and everyone has to vacate the fields. Sometimes you look around and think....everything looks good, why did they go off? You hear a story like this and you better know getting off the fields is the thing to do....no matter how it looks in the sky. It's best when taken out of everyone's hands...no pressure on the machine to get the game in....no one to blame or complain to...cut and dry.
We have the lightning detector system set up in Barrington. If any of the sensors in town go off, they all go off and everyone has to vacate the fields. Sometimes you look around and think....everything looks good, why did they go off? You hear a story like this and you better know getting off the fields is the thing to do....no matter how it looks in the sky. It's best when taken out of everyone's hands...no pressure on the machine to get the game in....no one to blame or complain to...cut and dry.
That is a very sad story Coach. Thank you for sharing that with us. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to us to respect inclement and severe weather and take measures to protect ourselves.
FBD described Barrington's lightning detection system and they are wise to be protecting the users of their ballfields with this high tech apparatus. I have no idea how much these systems cost to install and maintain, but their worth is unquestionable.
These systems do work very well and, as FBD mentioned, they take the pressure of making safety related decisions away from the officials. These systems are indeed 'life savers' so long as people follow through on seeking proper shelter once warned.
When the siren blasts its warning all of the teams, spectators, and officials must seek shelter in a fully enclosed building, not in the open dugout. If seeking shelter in a vehicle the windows must be rolled up and the occupants must not touch any metallic surfaces within the vehicle.
It seems that most people merely seek shelter from the rain. Rain and lightning are obviously not the same. Rain, for the most part is inconvenient or annoying. Lightning is deadly.
Tom Skilling, meteorologist for WGN TV, has written several informative responses to questions regarding lightning safety in his 'Ask Tom Why?' column which appears in the Chicago Tribune.
I'm going to shift this topic over to the general forum and post some of Tom's responses.
Thank you again Coach.
FBD described Barrington's lightning detection system and they are wise to be protecting the users of their ballfields with this high tech apparatus. I have no idea how much these systems cost to install and maintain, but their worth is unquestionable.
These systems do work very well and, as FBD mentioned, they take the pressure of making safety related decisions away from the officials. These systems are indeed 'life savers' so long as people follow through on seeking proper shelter once warned.
When the siren blasts its warning all of the teams, spectators, and officials must seek shelter in a fully enclosed building, not in the open dugout. If seeking shelter in a vehicle the windows must be rolled up and the occupants must not touch any metallic surfaces within the vehicle.
It seems that most people merely seek shelter from the rain. Rain and lightning are obviously not the same. Rain, for the most part is inconvenient or annoying. Lightning is deadly.
Tom Skilling, meteorologist for WGN TV, has written several informative responses to questions regarding lightning safety in his 'Ask Tom Why?' column which appears in the Chicago Tribune.
I'm going to shift this topic over to the general forum and post some of Tom's responses.
Thank you again Coach.
Each Unit costs approximately $75,000.00.
Wow! That's a lot!
Can one unit serve a wide area? For example can one unit protect the park where it is installed and also cover parks within the same district, say a few miles away...or perhaps several miles away?
Obviously the detection sensors, and the data they collect, would be centered at the site of the installation, but can that data, and the resulting warning be projected out from that site to protect a wider area?
Can one unit serve a wide area? For example can one unit protect the park where it is installed and also cover parks within the same district, say a few miles away...or perhaps several miles away?
Obviously the detection sensors, and the data they collect, would be centered at the site of the installation, but can that data, and the resulting warning be projected out from that site to protect a wider area?
In Barrington, I think the money was raised by The Schools, Youth Leagues (all sports) Park District and Service Organizations.
I believe there is a unit at each (about 10)of the schools, each of the two Park District Locations and I believe at the Golf Courses. I think they are all tied together and that is as much as 10-15 miles apart.
I believe there is a unit at each (about 10)of the schools, each of the two Park District Locations and I believe at the Golf Courses. I think they are all tied together and that is as much as 10-15 miles apart.
Thanks for your response FBD. The whole sports community up there pitched in to help...that's good.
The system that most Park Districts and golf courses use is called Thorguard. I was president of a baseball league on the northwest side of Chicago when we installed on. A nearby suburb (Park Ridge) had installed one about a year earlier. The units are connected with a rf signal (Radio Fequency?) Last year Niles baseball had installed them in the Niles ballparks.
I feel this system is excellent, but I do not remember it costing 75000.00 Our community would have never been able to afford it.
Park Ridge had a similar tragedy, a young s****r official had been struck by lightning and had lost his life (http://thorguard.com/news6.asp)
To sum this up this system is a valuable asset for any community to invest in.
Thanks
I feel this system is excellent, but I do not remember it costing 75000.00 Our community would have never been able to afford it.
Park Ridge had a similar tragedy, a young s****r official had been struck by lightning and had lost his life (http://thorguard.com/news6.asp)
To sum this up this system is a valuable asset for any community to invest in.
Thanks