ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Chargers, golf carts, and fires, what do they all have in common?

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St. Johns County Fire Rescue (SJCFR) says that combination is the reason for most fires in the county.

Last Friday in a St. John’s County neighborhood, a home was torched after firefighters said a golf cart sparked a fire.

“The majority of them are being caused by golf carts,” Chris Naff, Public Information Officer for St. Johns Fire and Rescue said.

That is something all too common in St. Johns County.

“It sounds like we kind of have a little bit of a problem,” Naff said.

News4JAX stopped by the fire rescue station in Nocatee to see what’s the best way to address it.

“I’d say upwards of 80% of our fires, especially in this community of Nocatee, are caused by either golf cart fires, e-bikes, any kind of E-mobility product with lithium-ion batteries, or even the lead acid batteries,” Naff said.

Reporter John Asebes stood across from Naff for eight minutes at the fire station and he said “unplug” at least four times.

That’s the general advice as well as reading the instruction manual on your golf cart or battery-powered product.

Naff said if you leave it on too long, there’s a chance they could get called to your home.

“It causes the batteries to overheat and when they overheat, they catch fire,” he said.

Naff said most of the battery-related fires they are called to are in Nocatee.

SJCFR responded to the following number of fires over the last three years:

• 2022: 312

• 2023: 295

• 2024: 158 (to date)

“You can drive up and down here all day and see golf carts,” Naff said. “Recently in this area, we’ve had about I’d probably say five or six in just this area, I would probably say probably upwards of 10 to 15, at least throughout the county.”

Naff said to be careful when charging your battery-powered items and unplug them when you’re done.