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 North Palm Beach responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K 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 61% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
354 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +20.0% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +2.8% | |
| 2024 | 102 | +37.8% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -54.9% |
For the 2 building fires North Palm Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 17.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 26.4% |
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 North Palm Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 14 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 15.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Palm Beach departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Water vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Palm Beach sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 250,385 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 25,000 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23,500 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 21,100 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 16,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,783 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 12,000 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,700 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10,658 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 10,000 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 9,008 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 7,600 | 48.1 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 North Palm Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Palm 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.