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 Springs responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
343 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $693K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +45.1% | |
| 2023 | 69 | -6.8% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +11.6% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -6.5% |
For the 2 building fires Palm Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Assembly area without fixed seats - 100+ persons | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 22.4% |
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 Palm Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 24.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Candle | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palm Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palm Springs sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 733,798 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 25,000 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23,500 | 39.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Springs. 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.