Missouri Firefighter Survives Lightning Strike

Aug. 4, 2009
A Raymore firefighter survived a lightning strike Tuesday morning while out on a call.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --

A Raymore firefighter survived a lightning strike Tuesday morning while out on a call.

"I've just been struck by lightning. Oh my gosh!" said Brett Palmer.

Brett Palmer, of the South Metropolitan Fire Department, was struck by a bolt of lightning just after 7 a.m.

Palmer was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released.

"My fingers are still tingling." Palmer told KMBC's Micheal Mahoney."I am very lucky."

Palmer and his two partners were checking a fire alarm at a house near Station 3 on the south end of Raymore when lightning hit.

An intense thunderstorm had just moved through the area. Palmer said he was reaching for a fire ax at the moment the lightning struck. Even though his hand was on the wooden handle of the ax, the back of his hand was also in contact with the metal wall of the fire engine door, which was energized by the strike.

Palmer told Mahoney his only thought while he was being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance was, "I've just been struck by lightning. Oh my gosh!"

Mahoney will have more on the story on the KMBC news at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Copyright 2009 by KMBC.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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