Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, a frantic call to Boardman Police.
The caller said, "someone's just got hit by lightning in our backyard," at a home on Forest Lake Drive.
Dave Fiffick, a manager with Clemente Ambulance, was having dinner with his family. Their backyard faces the rear of the home on Forest Lake.
As the storm raged outside, they saw a brilliant flash of lightning with a simultaneous thunderclap.
"My son and my wife looked out back and heard people screaming and saw a gentleman lying on the ground," Fiffick said.
Fiffick said he and his son ran outside and found 60-year-old John Phillips unconscious and not breathing: "We tried to resuscitate and breathe for him, and within a short period of time, he got a pulse back."
Although the victim's family has not been available for comment, reports indicated the victim had been in his backyard for a party. There was a big tent there at the time, along with several large trees nearby.
Authorities still don't know for certain the victim was actually hit by lightning. Boardman Fire Chief Jim Dorman said, "there's no signs on the gentleman of a lightning strike, no burns."
"The way it happened, and it happened so quickly, [lightning] had to have had something to do with it," Fiffick said.
While neighbors credit the actions of Fiffick and his son with saving the victim's life, firefighters said the accident should serve as a lesson for others.
"If you've got a strong storm and lightning, get in your house and get protected," Dorman said.
Phillips is a teacher and track coach in the Lordstown Schools, and authorities said his good physical conditioning may have helped save him Saturday night. Phillips remained in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center Monday evening.
