911 calls released in New Smyrna Beach lightning strike incidents
911 calls released in New Smyrna Beach lightning strike incidents
Calls poured into the Volusia County dispatch center as lightning filled storms rocked New Smyrna Beach Tuesday afternoon.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla - Calls poured into the Volusia County dispatch center as lightning-filled storms rocked New Smyrna Beach Tuesday afternoon.
"Someone got struck by lightning," a caller is heard telling dispatch.
The New Smyrna Beach Fire Department said a landscaper was taken to the hospital in critical condition after he was hit by a bolt at a home on Middlebury Loop.
"It was a direct hit, so they were transported to Halifax," said Battalion Chief Don Snell.
Another strike rocked a man to the ground outside the AutoZone off State Road 44.
"Gentleman was standing next to the tree. The energy threw him to the ground, so he sustained some minor injuries from the fall," said Snell.
Firefighters now have a warning to both visitors and locals about the real threat lightning can be.
"When you see these heavy storms building, all that energy transfer is gonna come back to the earth somewhere so the best thing to do is get out of the way and find something to do inside," he said.