SIESTA KEY – A Suncoast man is helping spread awareness on lightning safety a year after a Texas teen was struck on Siesta Key.
JIM ALFIERI – SARASOTA SEASONAL RESIDENT
“If it helps save a life, that’s huge,” said Seasonal Sarasota Resident, Jim Alfieri.
Jim Alfieri heard of Jacob Brewer’s story while visiting Sarasota in July, last year, and after seeing a picture of Jacob in a hospital bed connected to ventilators, Alfieri says Jacob reminded him of his own son.
“I kind of felt attached to this story, and I eventually got ahold of the parents and said look, I do PR, I’m from New York, if I can do anything to help,” said Alfieri.
Since the tragic incident, Alfeiri has dedicated time to bring awareness to the many dangers lightning can bring when a storm rolls in
“Lightning can strike from as far as ten miles away from an approaching storm, I never knew that and I don’t think most people here know that,” said Alfieri.
SNN’s Chief Meteorologist, Justin Mosely, says thunderstorms are very common in the summer
“The idea is, when thunder roars, head indoors, we can also see something called a bolt from the blue, where you get lightning well removed from the actual rain of a thunderstorm so we all have to be careful,” said SNN’s Chief Meteorologist, Justin Mosely.
If you can’t get indoors, it’s best to get into a vehicle, thunderstorms roll around every afternoon
“The peak time for the thunderstorm activity here along the west coast of the state is between 2 PM and about 6 PM, so we all need to stay weather and be on guard during the afternoon hours,” said Mosely.
Jacob continues to recover in Jacksonville.
July 16 will mark the one-year anniversary of the incident and Alfieri will be at Siesta Key giving handouts about beach safety and lightning strikes.
For more information on Jacob’s story, you can visit his Go-FundMe page here.
