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 Riviera Beach responded to 154 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 56% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
900 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 144 | — | |
| 2022 | 168 | +16.7% | |
| 2023 | 214 | +27.4% | |
| 2024 | 220 | +2.8% | |
| 2025 | 154 | -30.0% |
For the 9 building fires Riviera Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 44 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 27.1% |
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 Riviera Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 48.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 30 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Riviera Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 66% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $13,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Riviera Beach sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 2 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 3 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 413,883 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 25,000 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23,500 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 21,100 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 16,000 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 14,000 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,783 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 12,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 11,000 | 49.2 mi |
Top 8 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 Riviera Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Riviera 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.