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 Altha responded to 119 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 92% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
323 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 1 | — | |
| 2022* | 21 | — | |
| 2023 | 74 | — | |
| 2024 | 108 | +45.9% | |
| 2025 | 119 | +10.2% |
* Well below Altha's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Altha departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 25 | 53.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Arena, assembly area w/ fixed seats - 100+ persons | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.1% |
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 Altha mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 9 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Altha departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Altha sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 131,956 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 26,279 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,602 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,458 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 8,080 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,498 | 28.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,400 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,679 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 6,675 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,384 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,983 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,624 | 46.7 mi |
Top 6 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 Altha. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Altha.
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.