By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank has 16 branches and more than 200 employees in southern Florida.

Hurricane Charley affected many of them.

The bank has branches from Naples north to Sarasota but none in the hardest hit areas of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.

"About 70 percent of our employees are from the Midwest, and I just transferred some people down from Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland," said Colleen Kvetko, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank Florida. "They've been here a month, and here we have a hurricane."

Kvetko worked in Fifth Third's national division in its Fountain Square office from 1980-1992. She had been in Naples for less than two months when Hurricane Andrew hit.

Many of the Florida banks suffered cosmetic damage. Damage at Kvetko's home was limited to trees and bushes. Some of the bank's employees living in Cape Coral, North Fort Meyers and Charlotte County endured more extensive damage but received time off, supplies and temporary housing from the company.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: A plywood wall of what used to be the backside of a home in Port Charlotte read: "Looters will be shot."

The roof of a Charlotte County fire house near Interstate 75 and Rampart Lane was blown off, but firefighters continue to staff the facility.

"Sorry, Charlie, we're staying," read a spray-painted plywood sign.

PUBLIC HOUSE: The historic downtown of Punta Gorda was especially hard hit. The only restaurant open on Tuesday was the Celtic Ray pub.

Owner Kevin Doyle, a native of Dublin, Ireland, lost half of his business, the restaurant side. The pub was open and pouring Guinness on Tuesday - even without gas or electricity.

"We're alive," was Doyle's standard greeting as he tightly hugged regulars who wandered in for a pint. "If we all smell, we can't really smell it."

He was hoping to get gas service back Tuesday so he could serve food, at least fish and chips.

"Everybody's having to go half an hour up the road to Venice to eat," Doyle said.

ONE SAFE, ONE UNKNOWN: Though neighbors had downed power lines and trees, Stu and Gladys Warshauer of Wyoming feel fortunate their home in Naples didn't receive any damage. They received the good news from a house sitter who regularly checks on the home while the couple is in Cincinnati.

"It took us a couple days to find out because the electricity was out and we couldn't get through," Stu Warshauer said.

They are less certain about their timeshare in Captiva, which is in the South Seas Resort.

"We don't know much about what has happened there. I read on the Internet that it was hit really hard by 145 mph winds," he said. "But at the time of the first report, there wasn't any real structural damage to any of the places."

"It's out of my control," Warshauer said. "It's in somebody else's hands."

Maggie Downs contributed to this report. E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com