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 Vero Beach responded to 767 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $285K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
4,042 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $11.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 703 | — | |
| 2022 | 883 | +25.6% | |
| 2023 | 740 | -16.2% | |
| 2024 | 949 | +28.2% | |
| 2025 | 767 | -19.2% |
For the 28 building fires Vero Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 917 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 | 196 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 136 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 99 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 73 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 41 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 39 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 31 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 28 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 28 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 24 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 222 | 24.2% |
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 Vero Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 405 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 78 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 70 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 66 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 57 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 46 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 26 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 24 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 21 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 18 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 106 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vero Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 55% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $90,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $89,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vero Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 132,580 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 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 17,000 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,564 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,981 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 4,018 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,560 | 26.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Vero Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vero 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.