By admin 
TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — A Tempe firefighter is back on the job after a lightning strike knocked him to the ground days ago while he worked to put out a tree fire.
Read more Composting offers water-saving solution as Arizona faces Colorado River cuts
The firefighter was part of a crew working to extinguish a fire on a palm tree that had just been hit by lightning during Wednesday’s storm when a second strike hit the same tree moments later.
The strike and the moment the firefighter went down were captured on video.
View this post on Instagram
Fire chief reacts to video
Interim Fire Chief Kyle Carman saw the video of the strike.
“It was scary. That was my first thought was, I’m glad he’s okay,” Carman said. “We’re just very fortunate that he’s okay … It shows you what our folks are up against every single day.”
Video shows the firefighter up and walking with other firefighters at his side as he was taken to a nearby hospital.
Firefighters respond to monsoon hazards
“There’s a lot of different things that the monsoons bring us,” Carman said. “All sorts of different things, but we are an all hazards department, and we respond to anything at any time.”
“They’re doing heroic things every single day. This is a calling. That firefighter is back out on the truck because he wants to be there serving the community,” Carman added.
Forecaster explains repeat lightning strikes
First Alert Forecaster Holly Bock was tracking the storm as it moved through the area.
Read more ‘Free to do whatever he wants:’ D-backs manager addresses reports of Marte at casino
“It’s definitely possible for lightning to strike the same area or the same object twice. It is just more rare,” Bock said. “During the monsoon, we see trees catch on fire. Sometimes even house fires started from lightning strikes.”
“Lightning can go through a tree and even around the surrounding areas,” she added. “In this case, first responders were just doing their job. But at any point, if you can even hear the thunder, that’s when you want to go indoors so lightning can’t strike you.”
According to NOAA, lightning strikes kill more than 20 people per year on average in the U.S.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more Community holds vigil for 11-year-old Marana killed in bicycle crash