A Lincoln firefighter had a close call Thursday night during a thunderstorm.
Captain Guy Pinkman was aboard Engine 8 when a 16-foot tree limb slammed through the passenger-side windshield, narrowly missing him, according to The Journal Star.
The crew was responding to a report of a downed power line just after 9 p.m.
"It sounded like a bomb went off," he told the newspaper.
The limb hit him across the chin and just missed the driver. A third firefighter was unharmed.
Glass sprayed Pinkman in the face, mouth and eyes and he said he kept his eyes closed until after he was treated at the hospital.
Another engine en route to another downed wire and a medic unit responded to the disabled fire engine and transported the driver and Pinkman to the hospital.
Engine 8 sustained several thousand dollars' worth in damage and left the inside of the engine covered in glass.
A reserve engine has been put into service while repairs are made.
