Your local fire department does deadly serious work putting out blazes and saving lives at the scene But it turns out that humor and creativity can play a role in their jobs too Alexis McLellan has been the Public Information Officer for the San Carlos Park Fire Department for 19 years “I was sending press releases by fax machine,” McLellan said San Carlos Park Fire Department’s Instagram was in the top 10 for Best Instagram presence They were up against such Instagram royalty Now she’s been chosen as a speaker at the Government Social Media Conference next month in Orlando She’ll share some of her tips about using Instagram successfully “I’m going to be speaking about how to connect with your community through Instagram reels by using humor and creativity,” said McLellan she said is that her audience on Instagram tends to be much younger than she is “You constantly have to evolve and learn what is a 16-year-old going to stay and watch for 3 seconds so I can deliver them a safety message,” she said “A lot of people may not know what we do besides putting out fires,” said McLellan “They may learn about some of the services that they're ultimately paying for as our taxpayers And if we can highlight those services or just give them confidence that we are going to provide them excellent fire and EMS services the firefighters she works with are open to helping her create reels “They’ve only drawn the line when I’ve introduced a wig View some of San Carlos Park Fire Department’s most popular Instagram reels WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now — A home in San Carlos Park is considered a total loss after an early morning house fire San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue say they were dispatched to the fire on the 17000 block of Devore Lane around 3:30am When crews arrived smoke and flames were showing from the garage and front of the home crews found the fire had spread through the attic SCPFD says the fast-moving fire and lack of hydrants in the area contributed to the devastating damage to the home At the time of the fire four occupants were home and alerted of the fire by working smoke alarms SCPFD says another cat is still missing at this time Fire marshal is on scene Saturday morning and investigating the cause of the fire — One adult and two children are displaced after a fire according to the San Carlos Park Fire District to the 8000 block of Winged Foot Drive for a house fire Crews arrived find smoke and flames in the garage of the home They said they quickly extinguished the fire before it could spread through the home all escaped safely thanks to their smoke alarms Fire damage was confined to the garage however there was smoke damage in the home The Fire Marshal said the an electrical issue sparked the fire The Red Cross said it is helping the family who is displaced The Red Cross is providing emergency financial assistance — Deputies responded to a San Carlos Park home on Ithaca Drive LCSO says it was for a domestic disturbance involving a knife The victim was able to get away before deputies arrived on scene LCSO says the suspect used the knife on himself He was transported to the hospital for minor injuries The suspect will be arrested for domestic related charges A day after authorities began probing a death in the San Carlos Park area, Lt. Todd Olmer, spokesperson for the Lee County Sheriff's Office, said Thursday the Wednesday incident at Olive Road involved the death of aNn 85-year-old man and is not suspicious the sheriff's office identified the man and added that all parties were accounted for while detectives conducted interviews Naples mayor's DUI: 911 dispatcher tries to defuse incident with Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann: 'Stay away' Sheriff's deputies had responded to the home for a welfare check on the man The sheriff's office said deputies found the victim with injuries A detailed incident report was not available before publication Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews A 1,000-galon propane tank leak prompted firefighters' response Friday morning initially causing evacuations until officials shut down the power grid said firefighters were dispatched to the 7000 block of Spotted Fawn Court McLellan said crews arrived to find a leaking 1,000-gallon propane tank She said the Incident Command immediately called for the power grid to shut down and added that Florida Power & Light officials were worked to isolate the power outage to the immediate area Second victim dies: Second victim dies nearly two weeks after Tice stabbing adding that officials cleared the scene around 10:45 a.m McLellan said Hurricane Helene did not cause the propane leak Authorities have launched an investigation after they say they responded to a San Carlos Park home where they found a wounded man The Lee County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday morning the scene happened at Olive Road The sheriff's office identified the dead as a 91-year-old man and added that all parties were accounted for while detectives conducted interviews Death row bound: Florida killer Wade Wilson begins journey to death row, leaves Lee County jail for Raiford Sheriff's deputies responded to the home for a welfare check on the 91-year-old male Fla — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said a 91-year-old man died in San Carlos Park A squad car was parked in the driveway and crime scene tape wrapped around the house where deputies say they discovered him injured during a wellness check Deputies say they started investigating the death just after six on Tuesday night the man was injured and he later died after being taken to a nearby hospital.Watch my report here.. the street was still completely blocked off with crime scene tape with squad cars and a Mobile Command Center truck on site Jerry Scandiffio lives down the street and said seeing this left him worried “With the length of time the police were there I assumed it was a murder,” he added Lee County Sheriff’s Office has not released the name of the man who died but they say everyone involved in the case has been identified “My heart goes out to him and his family,” said Scandiffio Olive Road has since been reopened for vehicles and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available — Homeowners in San Carlos park say they've been kept awake for several nights due to frequent power surges About a week since Hurricane Milton passed through Southwest Florida she and her neighbors are seeing power surge issues "We're always conscientious about appliances getting damaged by these off and on surges," she said one San Carlos Park resident says some appliances have even caught fire our lights were off for about a half hour," Green said Here's what a spokesperson with Florida Power and Light had to say: The situation does seem to be on the mend. People can report surges here "In the beginning they were going off like 4 or 5 times each night now it's slowed up to about once a night," Green said UPDATE: 12:15 p.m.The San Carlos Park Fire District Fire Marshal and the State Fire Marshal reported the cause of the fire was electrical You can watch Fox 4's Victoria Scott's full report here: UPDATE: 8:45 a.m.Fox 4 Community Correspondent just spoke with the San Carlos Park Fire Department about the fire on Seville Rd San Carlos Park firefighters put out a house fire on Seville Rd "I saw a whole bunch of ambulances and police cars it must be very bad," said neighbor Kiahna Heffron Heffron said her neighbor called her up when all the commotion started she just hoped everyone in the duplex was OK "Every time I would pass by to walk my dog A Fox 4 crew saw firefighters console a woman as she watched the fire burn The house is in a neighborhood off of Three Oaks Parkway We have a crew on the scene and will update this story as soon as we have more information One person is safe after a fire in Fort Myers Estero Fire Department and San Carlos Park firefighters both responded to the scene that sparked on Elwood Road We confirmed that one person was inside the mobile home when it caught fire but firefighter put the scene out within 15 minutes Two dogs were recovered after authorities say they were left behind when a fire broke inside a San Carlos Park duplex on Tuesday morning Firefighters with the San Carlos Park Fire District were dispatched shortly after 7:15 a.m The fire district reported crews found heavy smoke and flames off the right side of the duplex LCSO deputy arrested: Former Lee sheriff's deputy accused of sending explicit photo to 17-year-old girl firefighters began a search of the residence The residents told firefighters there were two dogs and a cat in the right side of the duplex which suffered heavy fire and smoke damage They also reported three other cats were in the left side of the duplex They were unable to find the cat the residents reported in that area of the home Authorities said they found and rescued the other three cats "who are in good health," on the left side of the duplex The fire district said the cause remained unknown Tuesday morning The family of a San Carlos Park woman and her mother received some closure Monday after they learned the convicted killer who sent a photo of the slaying to a friend in admitting the killings received the maximum sentence he could possibly get after chasing and shooting Fleury in front of two children He had remained at Lee County Jail since his Nov Cartwright briefly barricaded himself inside the home with the children — a 6-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl — who witnessed one of the shootings and were splattered with blood according to a Lee County Sheriff's Office report One of the children told detectives Cartwright walked up to the older woman with a gun Cape Coral probe: At least 25 lawsuits filed in 2024 against Cape Coral builder raided by police Sheriff's office reports said surveillance videos from the neighborhood showed Cartwright shooting one victim The sheriff's office said that during an interview with Cartwright he first said the women attacked him before he admitted to killing both and said he felt bad about it He also told investigators he "blacked out" during the incident and didn't want to talk about it The Sheriff's Office report said Cartwright also texted a friend a picture of one of the victims and admitted killing the women The News-Press archives contributed to this report Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews A worker at a San Carlos Park tire shop is dead after a tire he was inflating exploded causing injuries to his head and a coworker's leg An incident report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office identified the victim killed in the incident as Richard Vallini Lee County sheriff's deputies responded to A Expert Tire & Service where they found Vallini suffering from severe head injuries Records show the tire shop opened in 1993 and is owned by Scott Kitzinger Vallini and another coworker were filling large tires with air While they relieved air pressure off the tire striking Vallini's head and Kitzinger's leg Life in federal prison: Wisconsin man gets life for 2018 double murder during Estero firearms transaction Jason Kitzinger yelled for help and another man briefly held towels against Vallini's head A man picked up the phone Tuesday afternoon to a number associated with Scott Kitzinger but ended the call as soon as this reporter identified himself Second tire explosion in SW FL in less than two monthsCape Coral Police said that on June 23 a Complete Auto Care shop employee was trying to inflate a tire Pilot Commander wins the San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita Park Sent off as the 2-5 favorite in the five-horse San Carlos Pilot Commander and rider Juan Hernandez broke from the rail and stalked the leaders from close range along that inside path never much more than a length off the lead He hit the six-furlong mark in 1:10.59 then battled grittily to the wire while remaining on his left lead The final time for seven furlongs on the dirt track rated fast was 1:23.98 but he showed a lot of heart," said CSLR's Alex Childs "Bob has done an incredible job with the horse Sign up for BloodHorse Daily For All Mankind  finished three-quarters of a length behind in second finished another half-length back in third It was the fifth San Carlos win for Baffert who said removing blinkers from Pilot Commander in his previous start might have made a difference to his trainee which he needed to do today," Baffert said "I knew he was caught in a tight spot he's gonna have to really show his grit CSLR purchased Pilot Commander for $700,000 at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Pilot Commander has won four times and finished second twice in seven starts He is the 19th graded winner for leading fourth-crop sire Justify who stands at Ashford Stud in Kentucky for an advertised fee of $250,000 in 2025 all she wants to be is a racehorse," said Raabe who handled the trainer's duties for the race Thomas is going into his sixth year training the majority of owner/breeder George Strawbridge Jr.'s stable The trainer acquired Tirupati for Strawbridge during the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale The Wilshire victory makes Tirupati the fourth graded stakes winner among Mitole's first foals