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 DeFuniak Springs responded to 230 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $353K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,739 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.8M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 454 | — | |
| 2022 | 262 | -42.3% | |
| 2023 | 329 | +25.6% | |
| 2024 | 464 | +41.0% | |
| 2025 | 230 | -50.4% |
For the 58 building fires DeFuniak Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 400 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 | Outside area, other | 55 | 13.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 51 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 50 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 32 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 18 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 18 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 108 | 27.0% |
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 DeFuniak Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 160 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 30 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 26 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 23 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 20 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 18 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 18 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 14 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 14 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 61 | 15.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by DeFuniak Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $353,286 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $83,704 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $73,286 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $31,537 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. DeFuniak Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,901 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,930 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,900 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,926 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,486 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,176 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,691 | 42.9 mi |
Top 9 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 DeFuniak Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in DeFuniak Springs.
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.