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 Chattahoochee responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 86% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
247 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $638K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 63 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 48 | -23.8% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -32.7% |
For the 3 building fires Chattahoochee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 19 | 35.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 1.9% |
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 Chattahoochee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 79.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chattahoochee departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chattahoochee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 123,136 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 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,602 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,458 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,498 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,400 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,679 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 6,675 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,384 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,983 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,624 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,614 | 30.8 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 Chattahoochee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chattahoochee.
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.