When thunder roars, go indoors.
That’s the message West Manatee Fire Rescue’s Rodney Kwiatkowski wants people to hear following a June 23 lightning strike in Holmes Beach that sent a man to the hospital.
According to Kwiatkowski and reports on the incident, lightning struck a cabana near the 68th Street beach access where five people took cover.
WMFR was notified by dispatch at 3:58 p.m. and arrived at the scene by 4:03 p.m. Manatee County Emergency Medical Services also responded.
They found the group — all from locations across the state — under a condominium building, where they sought shelter following the strike. All five were conscious, with one person lying down. One person declined medical evaluation.
A man in his 30s was transported to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton for treatment. Kwiatkowski told The Islander June 26 that he had no update on the man’s condition.
The others were evaluated and declined transport to the hospital, but a couple of them sustained burns on their hands, according to Kwiatkowski.
According to lightningmaps.org, the lightning strike was one of many that hit the island around that time.
Witnesses reported seeing other beachgoers evacuate the area as the storm began but these five people remained on the shore, according to Kwiatkowski.
“They were terrified, honestly,” he said of the witnesses. “They were surprised that the people stayed on the beach. Even though they — the witnesses — had evacuated the beach, they’ll never wait as long as they did in the future because of what they saw.”
“It shook them up pretty good — everyone who was involved, everyone who witnessed it,” he added.
Kwiatkowski emphasized a simple message: “There is no safe place outdoors in a thunderstorm. … So, when the thunder roars, you go indoors.”