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.
FL
In 2025, fire departments serving Stuart responded to 320 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 41% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $10.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 474 | — | |
| 2022 | 494 | +4.2% | |
| 2023 | 433 | -12.3% | |
| 2024 | 387 | -10.6% | |
| 2025 | 320 | -17.3% |
For the 14 building fires Stuart departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 722 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 | 132 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 116 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 105 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 73 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 47 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 38 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 26 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 16 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 16 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 14 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 139 | 19.3% |
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 Stuart mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 219 | 30.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 175 | 24.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 59 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 54 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 40 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 37 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 21 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 18 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 17 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 12 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 70 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stuart departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 74% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stuart sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
17 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 | 3 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 4 | |
| 50-59 | 5 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 106,967 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 23,250 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,783 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 9,008 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,000 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,308 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,620 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 21.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 3,600 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,300 | 42.2 mi |
Top 7 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 Stuart. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stuart.
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.