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 Avon Park responded to 202 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 55% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,080 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 242 | +82.0% | |
| 2023 | 225 | -7.0% | |
| 2024 | 278 | +23.6% | |
| 2025 | 202 | -27.3% |
For the 17 building fires Avon Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 448 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 | 77 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 69 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 56 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 49 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 37 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 22 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 19 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 14 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 72 | 16.1% |
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 Avon Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 227 | 50.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 29 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 24 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 20 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 20 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 20 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 19 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 10 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 10 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 56 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Avon Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 83% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $57,430 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Avon Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 141,752 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 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 17,000 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,620 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,410 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 18.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Avon Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Avon Park.
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.