Because cloud-to-ground lightning doesn't strike areas shielded from strong atmospheric fields, it's attracted to well-exposed areas with high-standing, electric-conducting objects, such as trees, mountaintops, wires, fences and buildings, according to the Property and Casualty Trust. Buildings with antennas or other electrical equipment that stand on rooftops compound those risks. Lightning rods absorb the strike and provide it with an easy, earth-bound target that doesn't damage the rod structure nor the building it stands on. These rods do not attract lightning away from other places per se; they protect the building itself from strikes.
Without a lightning rod, objects inside and outside buildings can act as conductors for a lightning bolt's electrical current, the Storm Highway website states. When lightning contacts flammable objects, which can include gas pipes, structural lumber and insulation, fires are likely. Lightning can also travel through a building's electrical wiring, creating fire hazards throughout the circuitry. The shock wave of a strike can blow out walls, which can also cause fires in places the lightning hasn't struck.
While fires can significantly damage property, the electrical discharge from a strike is seemingly more dangerous to people inside the building. Side flashes occur when lightning hits or travels through a building and jumps onto a human being, potentially causing severe neurological damage and, in rare cases, death, the National Lightning Safety Institute reports. Because lightning rods generally keep discharges from reaching the inside of a building, side charges are much less likely.
While lightning rods aren't surge protectors, they protect buildings from damage to anything with a circuit, including all common appliances. Many buildings contain huge amounts of sensitive and nonreproducible data and information on computer hard drives and servers. These can be corrupted or damaged beyond repair through a lightning strike.