Florida
‘Now is the time to act’: Florida battling lithium-ion battery fires as more electric vehicles hit the roads
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The state of Florida is developing new standards for managing lithium-ion battery fires.
State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said new rules are needed because electric vehicles and other devices like e-scooters and e-bikes are becoming more common.
“The danger is known. It is real. Now is the time to act,” Patronis said during a news conference in Orlando.
The Department of Financial Services began making rules Thursday to develop standards for managing lithium-ion battery fires. Patronis said having standards for handling these fires is critical for Florida because electric vehicles can catch fire shortly after a hurricane.
“These heavily metalized saltwater create bridges on these batteries and they short out. And when they short out they will create a cascade effect,” Patronis said.
Patronis said 20 EVs caught fire after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Florida Professional Firefighters President Bernie Bernoska said firefighter safety needs to be looked at more than just trying try put out these fires.
“Beyond the challenge of simply extinguishing these fires, there’s also another danger that is sometimes overlooked and deals with the harmful cancer-causing gases produced during a lithium battery fire incident,” Bernoska said.
In addition to creating state rules, Patronis is encouraging Congress to pass federal standards for lithium batteries.
“We’ve got to be sensitive to where the problems lie that have not yet been fully discovered or factored in how to deal with these technologies,” Patronis said.
It could take nine months to a year to develop the state standards.
Copyright 2024 WCTV. All rights reserved.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a major breakthrough after months of debate, the U.S. House and Senate have reached an agreement to fully fund advanced education programs, including Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and AICE courses.
The decision comes as a relief to students and educators across Florida, where more than 90 schools offer IB and similar programs to approximately 16,000 students each year.
But at Cypress Creek High School in Orange County, uncertainty remains. Despite the federal funding agreement, the IB program at Cypress Creek may not be offered next school year. The district cites a lack of interest as the reason for phasing out IB and replacing it with the AICE curriculum. However, students say they were left out of the decision-making process and dispute the district’s claims.
“Pre-IB was taken out of our school before IB was taken out, which means that students were not put in classes that are meant to prepare them for the IB program,” said Zoey Salah, a current Cypress Creek student. “This decision was already made before this, before we found out in May and before we could do anything about it.”
Students, staff and alumni, who organized a protest at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, urged district officials to reconsider during a public comment of a Orange County Commision Board Meeting on Tuesday.
“I’m advocating for IB at Cypress Creek High School. Especially because of the opportunity you get to connect with other like-minded individuals academically. It really pushes you to do your best,” said Andres Rodriguez, a Cypress Creek IB alumnus.
If the IB program is eliminated, the nearest high school offering it is 20 miles away, a distance that could put the program out of reach for many Cypress Creek families.
While both IB and AICE are recognized by colleges nationwide, IB is often seen as offering more opportunities, especially for students aiming to study abroad for higher education.
“Especially those who are seeking higher education, like out of state or internationally, that is a huge loss of opportunity for them,” Rodriguez said. “Not just like, oh, this class is a college-level class, or you get college credit from it, you truly do some college-level research—it’s true prep in my opinion.”
As the district weighs its options, Cypress Creek students and supporters say they will continue to fight for a program they believe changes lives.
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Grab an umbrella before you head out the door because scattered showers and storms are in the forecast for Tuesday.
The NEXT Weather team tracked a few showers across the area in the early morning hours, and additional rain is on the way, especially for the late morning through early afternoon.
NEXT Weather
The combination of rain and clouds should help to keep temperatures in the mid to upper 80s across the area, but “feels like” temperatures will climb to the mid to upper 90s.
The chance of rain trends even higher for Wednesday and Thursday as showers will grow more widespread throughout the afternoon hours on both days. While isolated storms with heavy downpours, lightning and strong wind can’t be ruled out, the overall severe weather threat is low.
NEXT Weather
Saharan dust, which hung over South Florida late last week into the weekend, has cleared out, but another round is set to arrive late Thursday into Friday. This next batch of dust is expected to linger throughout the upcoming weekend and will help to reduce the chance of rain to 20% for Sunday – Father’s Day.
Afternoon highs will remain in the upper 80s through the next seven days.
WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took part in a news conference in Wakulla County on Monday to announce a new manufacturing facility.
Point Blank Enterprises, the worldwide leader in high-performance body armor, is bringing a factory to the county.
The partnership is part of DeSantis’ rural infrastructure bill, which allocated about $3.5 million to rural areas in Florida, including Wakulla County.
Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
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