Learn how to avoid lightning or how to help when it strikes with the National Trail Fire Department

GRATIOT, Ohio – They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but once is dangerous enough. According to the National Lightning Safety Council, Ohio ranks among the top ten for lightning-related deaths. That’s why the National Trail Fire Department is teaming up with several organizations for a Lightning Safety 101 Class at West Muskingum High School.

“…and because lightning is such a catastrophic event when it happens, we wanted to do something to help the community and educate the community and our fellow firefighters about how to prevent lightning strikes and what to do about it, as we could,” said Cpt. Mark Combs from the fire department.  “So we have the National Weather Service coming in conjunction with the EMA and the Red Cross and the [Genesis] Hospital and everybody else we could get involved to have this event, to teach people about how to deal with weather emergencies.”

The safety class teaches the best practices for recognizing and avoiding situations that can lead to deadly lightning strikes. As Joel Dickinson, an EMT Liaison for Genesis Healthcare Systems, explains how the training also helps for when someone is struck.

“Lightning has a tendency, because it’s direct current, it can knock out the heart, make the heart stop completely. In that kind of situation CPRs the life-saving intervention. And so that’s where the public joins us because public is almost always on scene before emergency services. So in order to give a victim the best chance at survival, we really need to have the public up to snuff on their CPR and reporting,” Dickinson said.

The Lightning Safety 101 Class will take place on Aug. 5 at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public at West Muskingum High School, 150 Kimes Road in Zanesville.