BRADENTON BEACH –The West Manatee Fire Rescue (WMFR) district has informed city officials about its plan to conduct annual safety inspections of short-term vacation rentals.
WMFR Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski presented the district’s inspection plans to the Bradenton Beach City Commission on April 20. WMFR Fire Chief Ben Rigney also attended the meeting.
When addressing the commission, Kwiatkowski noted the vacation rental industry is booming nationwide.
“It’s estimated that every 44 seconds there’s an accident at a vacation rental property,” he said.
He then referenced recent news stories pertaining to fires that occurred at vacation rentals, including the March 8 fire at the Bird’s Nest apartment building in Bradenton Beach, where three of the units serve as short-term rentals.
Kwiatkowski said one of the Bird’s Nest guests was showering when the fire occurred and
was able to safely escape because he heard the fire alarm.
“This is what we’re trying to accomplish,” Kwiatkowski said.
Kwiatkowski said eight of the 11 structure fires that occurred on Anna Maria Island during the past three years occurred at short-term vacation rentals.
He noted the state defines a short-term vacation rental as a dwelling or dwelling unit rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days, or advertised as such. Kwiatkowski said the district’s pending inspection program would only pertain to short-term vacation rentals and not to longer term, seasonal or annual rentals.
Kwiatkowski said the state of Florida’s Uniform Fire Safety Standards mandate that local fire jurisdictions protect health, safety and welfare in certain types of structures, including transient public lodging establishments (short-term vacation rentals).
“All such local authorities shall enforce, within their fire safety jurisdiction, the uniform fire safety standards for those buildings,” according to the state statute.
Kwiatkowski said transient public lodging establishment inspections are allowed according to Florida’s Uniform Fire Safety Standards and the Florida Fire Prevention Code. He also noted state law allows the state fire marshal to deny, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke the certificate of a fire safety inspector who fails to properly enforce the state’s applicable fire codes.
Kwiatkowski said there’s a long list of items inspectors will be looking at. The list includes properly functioning smoke alarms and fire extinguishers placed in proper locations, safe electrical components, primary and secondary means of getting in and out of the vacation rental unit, emergency lighting and more. He said WMFR will work with impacted property owners to help them get to where they need to be in terms of fire and life safety measures.
Commissioner Ralph Cole asked if vacation rental inspections are a new state mandate.
Kwiatkowski said the state statute has been in place for several years and was in place when he became the fire marshal in 2019. He said the COVID-19 pandemic and other events delayed the district’s implementation of a vacation rental inspection program. Kwiatkowski said other fire districts statewide are implementing similar programs.
Mayor John Chappie offered the use of the city commission chambers for a stakeholders’ meeting with potentially impacted vacation rental owners and others.
Additional info
Later in the week, Kwiatkowski was asked how many short-term vacation rentals operate on Anna Maria Island.
“We have identified approximately 2,700 legally operating vacation rentals throughout our district. Roughly 2,400 of those are on Anna Maria Island. I suspect there are a great number more operating that aren’t registered through the Department of Business and Professional Regulations as they are required to be. We are committed to identifying every vacation rental in our district and ensuring they are compliant. Safety is not an optional amenity. It is the foundation to a healthy business and community and profitable business and safety are not mutually exclusive,” Kwiatkowski said, noting the inspection program will begin Oct. 1.
“Regarding additional staffing, WMFR will hire two additional fire and life safety inspectors and an administrative assistant to help with the additional workload. After the two additional hires, our Fire and Life Safety Bureau will consist of four fire and life safety inspectors, an administrative assistant and myself,” he added.
Kwiatkowski is scheduled to make a similar presentation to the Anna Maria City Commission on Thursday, April 27. In late January, Kwiatkowski discussed the district’s vacation rental inspection plans during a Code Compliance town hall meeting held in Holmes Beach.
