Two Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Three Weeks Destroy Homes in Pasco County, Florida
Battery fires in Zephyrhills and New Port Richey destroyed two homes, killed a dog and displaced six people between Aug. 31 and Sept. 18.
FL
In 2025, fire departments serving Boca Raton responded to 527 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.2M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,586 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $10.4M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 442 | — | |
| 2022 | 502 | +13.6% | |
| 2023 | 549 | +9.4% | |
| 2024 | 566 | +3.1% | |
| 2025 | 527 | -6.9% |
For the 20 building fires Boca Raton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 394 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 104 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 51 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 36 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 14 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 12 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 12 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 11 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 8 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 127 | 32.2% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Boca Raton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 121 | 30.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 54 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 54 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 47 | 11.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 29 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Candle | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 40 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boca Raton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200,000 | Water vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Aircraft fire | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boca Raton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
41 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 7 | |
| 30-39 | 14 | |
| 40-49 | 9 | |
| 50-59 | 9 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 815,289 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 35.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 25,000 | 19.6 mi |
Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Boca Raton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boca Raton.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.