Town of Longboat Key Fire Chief urging parents to teach children not to go back into a house during a fire
Children and fire safety By Summer Smith | May 7, 2021 at 10:46 PM EDT - Updated May 7 at 10:46 PM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Investigators still do not know the cause of a mobile home fire in Sarasota that took the life of a young girl and her puppies.
The fire happened at the Sun N Fun RV Resort on Fruitville Road Wednesday evening.
Authorities say Rilee Beisler, 11, was killed while trying to save her puppies from their burning mobile home. They also say she most likely died from smoke inhalation.
Share Town s new fire station is expected to be ready for crews to live and work by late May.
The town’s new fire station is nearing completion with features and facilities never offered before to first responders on the island.
During a tour of the site at 2162 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Fire Chief Paul Dezzi said the plan is to open around the third week of May.
“Seeing what we forecasted or what we wanted coming to what it is today, here it is, a thing on a piece of paper is now becoming a reality,” Dezzi said.
Since the demolition of the old fire station in June 2020, south-side firefighters have operated out of a temporary trailer directly north of the new station getting built.
Dezzi is helping coordinate the town’s response to the pandemic.
Anyone 65 or older wanting to receive a vaccination in Manatee County can call 311 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays to ask for help in joining the vaccine standby pool. When a new shipment of vaccines arrive, the county will pull random names of people who have pre-registered to help them book an appointment.
As of Monday morning, Sarasota County does not offer a lottery system like Manatee County. However, that could change soon.
Dezzi said the town of Longboat Key has asked both Manatee and Sarasota counties for a vaccination site on the island.