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 Palm City responded to 159 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
843 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $10.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 142 | — | |
| 2022 | 173 | +21.8% | |
| 2023 | 144 | -16.8% | |
| 2024 | 225 | +56.2% | |
| 2025 | 159 | -29.3% |
For the 9 building fires Palm City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 378 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 | Wildland, woods | 90 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 84 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 61 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 49 | 13.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 45 | 11.9% |
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 Palm City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 153 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Lightning | 50 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 36 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 26 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 25 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 14 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palm City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $36,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palm City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
13 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 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 145,920 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 38,000 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 23,250 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,783 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 9,008 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,000 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,308 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,620 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 19.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 3,600 | 47.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Palm City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.