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 Royal Palm Beach responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
322 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +61.0% | |
| 2023 | 76 | +15.2% | |
| 2024 | 68 | -10.5% | |
| 2025 | 71 | +4.4% |
For the 3 building fires Royal 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 71 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 | 20 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 21.1% |
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 Royal Palm Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 15.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Royal Palm Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $33,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,445 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Royal Palm Beach sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 787,898 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 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38,100 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 38,000 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 25.1 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 Royal Palm Beach. 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.