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 Cedar Key responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +67.7% | |
| 2023 | 40 | -23.1% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -17.5% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -18.2% |
For the 4 building fires Cedar Key departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 8.8% |
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 Cedar Key mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cedar Key departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cedar Key sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 97,351 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Natural | 57,200 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 20,000 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 1,700 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 1,427 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,300 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,148 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 1,032 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 982 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 930 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 777 | 48.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32625 | 183 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Cedar Key. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cedar Key.
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.