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 Fort Walton Beach responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350.0M 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 44% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
963 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $353.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 166 | — | |
| 2022 | 218 | +31.3% | |
| 2023 | 217 | -0.5% | |
| 2024 | 233 | +7.4% | |
| 2025 | 129 | -44.6% |
For the 19 building fires Fort Walton Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 251 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 | 52 | 20.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 29 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 18 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 82 | 32.7% |
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 Fort Walton Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 35.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 30 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 15 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 31 | 12.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Walton Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000,000 | Building fires | Catastrophic | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Walton Beach sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 61,282 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 | 12.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,100 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,930 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,900 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,490 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,926 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 4.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,486 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,215 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,176 | 23.8 mi |
Top 6 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 Fort Walton Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fort Walton Beach.
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.