WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Lightning can quickly turn dangerous. According to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue four teens were struck while standing under a Banyan tree on Thursday.
“Two of the patients were found on the ground. One of the patients that was most serious was in cardiac arrest. Our crews began CPR and to provide care to that particular patient,” said Richard Gomolak, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Operations Chief.
Some parts of Pinellas County have invested in lightning detection systems. ABC Action News was there as crews installed them in Clearwater Beach a few months ago.
Over in Winter Haven, a new lightning alert system is also up and running.
It's at AdventHealth Fieldhouse and Conference Center by the community pool. It's also outside the Florida Citrus Building. A reassuring addition for parents like James Burrell. His kids are taking swimming lessons.
"It's definitely dangerous out here. We see what it does during this time of year where people are being struck by lightning. So it's definitely a great thing,” Burrell said.
When lightning is detected, multi-directional sirens and beacon are activated. ABC Action News was there in June, when the city was testing the system out.
"In the old days we used to have a formula where we would count between the thunder and lightning, and we would divide by five and that would give you an estimated mile to the storm. This is a lot more accurate. It's a National Weather Service," said Scott Eilers, Assistant Director for Parks, Recreation & Culture.
City leaders said the lightning alert system has sounded almost every afternoon since they installed them.
"We don't have a shelter big enough to accommodate everybody at the pool so we ask them to go out to their vehicles and there will be an all-clear alarm when the storm is at a safe distance," said Eilers.
He said the system takes the guesswork out and allows people to get to a secure location quickly.
"When you hear the siren or you here someone tell you to evacuate they really need to heed those warnings because the first strike can be the one that gets you. You want to shelter in a building or into a vehicle. Those are the place you need to be," Eilers said.
They are working so well, Winter Haven leaders plan to add more soon.
A South Tampa man turned to Susan Solves It after he said ADT told him he had to keep paying for a security system at his Hurricane Helene-damaged home, even though the system was so new that he never had a day of service.
