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 Belleview responded to 185 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 63% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,105 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 194 | — | |
| 2022 | 251 | +29.4% | |
| 2023 | 246 | -2.0% | |
| 2024 | 229 | -6.9% | |
| 2025 | 185 | -19.2% |
For the 10 building fires Belleview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 302 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 48 | 15.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 33 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 33 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 22 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 11 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 70 | 23.2% |
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 Belleview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 146 | 48.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 6.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 16 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 44 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belleview departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $156,389 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $135,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $90,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $26,642 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belleview sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 87,797 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 4,200 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 4,014 | 24.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 3,800 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,713 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,701 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,149 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,111 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 2,965 | 40.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Belleview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.