Burlington Co. Man Was 1st U.S. Lightning Strike Death Of 2021

WESTAMPTON TOWNSHIP, NJ — A 70-year-old Florence man was the first person in the country to be killed by a lightning strike this year, according to a national group of experts that tracks lightning strike fatalities.

Michael Ward was struck by lightning while he was golfing at the Burlington County Country Club in Westampton on Wednesday, according to the Westampton Township Police Department.

Westampton police, fire and EMS responded to a report of an unconscious who was not breathing at the county club, 170 Burrs Road, at about 3:47 p.m. Wednesday.

Ward was found in the area of the 7th hole, police said. He was pronounced deceased on the scene, police said. He was struck during isolated pop-up thunderstorms that struck the area Wednesday afternoon.

According to the National Lightning Safety Council, Ward is the first person who was killed by a lightning strike in the United States this year. Seventeen people were killed by lightning strikes nationally in 2020, down from 21 each of the previous two years.

Ward is the first New Jersey resident to be struck by lightning since Aug. 15, 2012, when a man was struck by lightning while fishing in Long Branch. Three New Jersey residents were killed by lightning strikes that year.

The Lightning Safety Council is a group of lightning safety professionals whose goal it is to promote lightning safety through education and awareness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the following tips to keep safe from lightning strikes:

Safety precautions outdoors

• If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
• Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter.
• Don’t forget the 30-30 rule. After you see lightning, start counting to 30. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
• If no shelter is available, crouch low, with as little of your body touching the ground as possible. Lightning causes electric currents along the top of the ground that can be deadly over 100 feet away.
• Stay away from concrete floors or walls. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring. Although you should move into a non-concrete structure if possible, being indoors does not automatically protect you from lightning. In fact, about one-third of lightning-strike injuries occur indoors.

Safety precautions indoors

• Avoid water during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through plumbing.
• Avoid electronic equipment of all types. Lightning can travel through electrical systems and radio and television reception systems.
• Avoid corded phones. However, cordless or cellular phones are safe to use during a storm.
• Avoid concrete floors and walls.