Venice Police and Fire departments were called to a manufactured home on Erskine Drive on Friday around 2:30 a.m. due to a fire. When they arrived, the home was fully involved in flames and smoke was coming through the roof in the rear of the home. Firefighters searched the affected residence and did not find anyone in it. They then evacuated the homes next to the one on fire, and had the blaze under control around 2:45 a.m. The home is a total loss. The adjoining homes were not damaged.
All on-duty fire personnel from the Venice department responded and were assisted by Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department.
A Venice firefighter was transported to Venice Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. No one else was injured. Firefighters remained on the scene until 7:20 a.m.
The cause of the fire is not known at this time. Venice police detectives and the state fire marshal are investigating the incident.