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 Palatka responded to 308 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $95K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,690 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.5M cumulative property loss. 6 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 297 | — | |
| 2022 | 388 | +30.6% | |
| 2023 | 294 | -24.2% | |
| 2024 | 403 | +37.1% | |
| 2025 | 308 | -23.6% |
For the 16 building fires Palatka departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 348 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 | Undetermined | 95 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 38 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 20 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 89 | 25.6% |
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 Palatka mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 201 | 57.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 47 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palatka departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 73% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95,290 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $86,750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $32,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palatka sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 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 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 202,389 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 26,900 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,626 | 28.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 12,753 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,145 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,800 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 40.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 6,500 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 5,679 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 43.2 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 Palatka. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Palatka.
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.