Florida Fire District Cuts Rental Fires by 67% Using AI

West Manatee Fire and Rescue discovered a heartbreaking pattern on Florida's Anna Maria Island: nearly three out of four home fires happened at vacation rentals, and every single child drowning occurred at these properties.

Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski knew something had to change. "Nothing will destroy the mental health of a first responder faster than having to do CPR on a two-year-old," he said.

The problem was enormous. Anna Maria Island welcomes over 400,000 visitors each year to its short-term rentals, but the fire district only knew about 2,200 properties officially registered with the state. Kwiatkowski suspected thousands more operated without inspections or safety checks.

His team partnered with tech company Granicus to use artificial intelligence that automatically scans rental listing websites. The AI found what manual searches never could: nearly 5,000 vacation rentals, more than double the official count.

Armed with real data, the fire district launched a campaign to reach every property owner. They explained the legal requirements and scheduled safety inspections to check for fire hazards and pool enclosure problems.

The Ripple Effect

The results transformed the island community in just three years. Structure fires at vacation rentals plummeted from 73 percent of all fires to just 24 percent. Even more meaningful: zero children drowned at short-term rentals in the past year.

The safety push also generated over $3 million in new annual revenue from registration fees and compliance. That funding allowed the district to hire three new inspectors and six additional firefighters, plus purchase new vehicles and equipment.

When a hurricane hit the area, the same technology helped responders quickly identify which damaged properties were still being advertised for rent online. This saved countless hours that would have been spent manually checking listings.

The system even proved its worth during disaster recovery. After officials deemed 1,100 properties uninhabitable, WMFR could instantly verify which ones were still taking bookings and alert those property owners.

Kwiatkowski sees the program as proof that safety and prosperity work together. "Safe rentals and safe communities drive tourism and protect local jobs," he explained. "Prevention and prosperity aren't mutually exclusive; they're mutually beneficial and reinforcing."

The district transformed from struggling with an invisible problem to running a proactive safety program that protects both the 400,000 annual visitors and the first responders who serve them.