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 Bristol responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 78% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
194 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -16.2% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -16.1% | |
| 2025 | 63 | +142.3% |
For the 3 building fires Bristol departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 136 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 | Outside area, other | 71 | 52.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Vacant structural area | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 10.3% |
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 Bristol mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 50 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 26 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Match | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bristol departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bristol sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 138,167 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 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,602 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,458 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 8,080 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,498 | 15.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,400 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,679 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 6,675 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,622 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,384 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,983 | 27.3 mi |
Top 2 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 Bristol. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bristol.
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.