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.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Cape Canaveral responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
247 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 84 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -44.0% | |
| 2024 | 39 | -17.0% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -10.3% |
For the 2 building fires Cape Canaveral departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 2 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 25.9% |
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 Cape Canaveral mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cape Canaveral departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,400 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $250 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cape Canaveral sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 154,210 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,564 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 22.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,981 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 6,263 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,304 | 14.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 5,000 | 33.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Cape Canaveral. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cape Canaveral.
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.