Early in the morning on June 28, just days before Fourth of July festivities were to begin, two lightning strikes hit Block Island in the vicinity of the intersection of Ocean and Connecticut Avenues. There was no apparent damage there, but the effects of the strike were felt a quarter of a mile away at both the Block Island Power Company and the New Shoreham Public Safety Complex. While the power company had damage to its firewall and lost internet for a short time, damage to the Public Safety Complex was much more significant.In a report to the Town Council delivered by Facilities Manager Tom Risom during their meeting on July 19, Risom said the strikes were “assumed to be ground strikes,” and that “analysis of the damage reveals that the strike came into the Safety Complex via the grounding system versus the power lines.”The strikes damaged multiple systems, including dispatch, communications, internet, video surveillance and “most workstations,” the report said. Internet communications to the Harbors Department office at the Boat Basin were also lost, but fortunately, Sertex had installed broadband there a few days before, so communication
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