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 Auburndale responded to 247 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,419 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 203 | — | |
| 2022 | 307 | +51.2% | |
| 2023 | 334 | +8.8% | |
| 2024 | 328 | -1.8% | |
| 2025 | 247 | -24.7% |
For the 25 building fires Auburndale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 336 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 | 47 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 46 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 42 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 40 | 11.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 29 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 88 | 26.2% |
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 Auburndale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 134 | 39.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 52 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 34 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 40 | 11.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Auburndale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $41,300 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,420 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,116 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Auburndale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 87,722 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,900 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,250 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 3,200 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,000 | 39.2 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 Auburndale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Auburndale.
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.