ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — One moment, lifeguard Damien Curry was leaning against a beach patrol truck. The next, he was thanking fate that he was still alive.

The Florida lifeguard says he survived an indirect lightning strike while working on the Fourth of July in Ormond Beach. Despite the terrifying strike of bad luck, he immediately focused on getting others to safety.

“I was like, holy, I’m alive! I couldn’t believe it,” Curry told a WESH 2 News reporter.

Curry told the news outlet that he had volunteered to work July 4 and was stationed near the Seminole Avenue beach approach when lightning struck the truck he was leaning on.

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“I’ve got my hand on the side of the truck, and then all of a sudden boom! It just blows up, and I jump through the truck. I get lifted off my feet,” Curry exclaimed. “I’m shaking, I mean I’m violently shaking, I was in panic. My whole left side of my body was tingling, pins and needles. It was like a bomb went off.”

Even after being struck, Curry told WESH he climbed into the patrol truck and began warning beachgoers to get out before the storm worsened.

“I’m literally on the PA with the lights on going, ‘Get off the beach, I just got struck by lightning, you’re gonna die,'” Curry said.

According to reports, only a drizzle was falling when the lightning hit, a reminder that dangerous weather can develop before heavy rain arrives.

Now recovering after a trip to the hospital, Curry hopes others learn from his close call.

“If you see clouds and hear thunder, get off the beach, go inside; it’s not worth your life. I had a close call with death, and it is just not worth it,” Curry said.

The experience has also left emotional scars. Curry told WESH that the sound of Fourth of July fireworks and lightning storms the following day triggered panic attacks.

Lifeguarding is a part-time job for Curry, who also owns a landscaping business and is running for Ormond Beach mayor. Although he loves watching over beachgoers, he says he’ll likely be taking a break from the lifeguard stand.

“My wife wrote on the fridge, ‘ No more lifeguarding,'” Curry said.