LINCOLN - The idea that lightning can't strike the same place, or the same person twice, is one fallacy that Dan Fulscher is never going to test.

The 49-year old Lincoln man knows what it's like to be struck by lightning, and he now takes every precaution when he sees a thunderstorm rolling in.

"Whenever I see lightning hit the ground, I think, 'Boy, I hope no one was there,' " said Fulscher, who is the assistant chief at for Lincoln Rural Fire Department and the Logan County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency coordinator.

In May 1993, Fulscher was on the phone in the Lincoln rural firehouse with the McLean County 911 dispatcher when a bolt of lightning struck the building, shocking Fulscher through the phone and sending the 6-foot-1-inch man 6-feet into the air.

"It moves you like a piece of paper," Fulscher said, comparing the force's strength to that of a horse. "It moves you out of its way."

The 911 dispatcher he was speaking with sent help, and Fulscher was taken to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital where he spent the weekend in the intensive care unit. He suffered a lapse of movement in his left arm and left leg for 12 hours, and his left eardrum was completely shut for the following 20 hours.

"Fortunately, I'm still here," he said. "I count myself very lucky."

This week has been designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service as Lightning Safety Awareness Week in the United States.

"Every year across this country, there are about 67 people on average who are killed by lightening," said Chris Miller, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

On average, two of those people are from Illinois.

Ranked eighth in the country for most deaths caused by lightning strikes, Illinois has the highest lightning fatality rate in the Midwest.

Eighty percent of people struck by lightning survive the experience, said Miller, but they can suffer short-term and long-term health problems.

It can also cause tingling in the extremities, damage to internal organs, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, chronic pain, nerve damage and long-term memory loss, he said.

Late spring and summer are prime seasons for thunderstorms to crop up because they thrive on the warm, moist air, Miller said. This is also the time when people are most susceptible to lightning strikes because they are taking part in many outdoor activities.

Ashley Rueff can be reached at arueff@;herald-review.com or 421-6915.