Yacht sinks after fire at Longboat Key Club

Investigators are trying to find the cause of a fire that heavily damaged a 65-foot motor yacht at the Longboat Key Club Aug. 5, fire officials said.

Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department Assistant Chief Jentzen Barton said the owner of the boat, who was in Canada at the time, received an alert from the boat’s security system at about 8:30 p.m.

Seeing smoke on a video feed from the boat, the owner called the Longboat Key Fire Department, which responded to the fire. The owner of the boat, called Steady AF, has not been identified by fire officials.

Barton said the fire may have been caused by lithium batteries onboard the boat but said the state fire marshal’s office will make any official determination on the cause of the fire.

Courtesy image

Lithium battery fires are particularly difficult to fight, Barton said because the chemical reactions inside the batteries are nearly impossible to extinguish.

When the chemicals mix, it causes extreme heat that sets everything around them ablaze. Water does not have an effect on a lithium reaction, he explained. 

“You’re fighting a losing battle,” he said. “You basically have to let it do its thing.”

The fire on the boat burned through the night, Barton said. 

The U.S. Coast Guard responded and has set up barriers to prevent water contamination from leaking diesel fuel or chemicals, Barton said. Preparations are underway to raise the boat, which has partially sunk, in order for the investigation to continue.