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 Chiefland responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
581 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | +30.3% | |
| 2023 | 132 | +13.8% | |
| 2024 | 128 | -3.0% | |
| 2025 | 116 | -9.4% |
For the 19 building fires Chiefland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 127 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 | 65 | 51.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 9.4% |
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 Chiefland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 97 | 76.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 4.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chiefland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $160,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chiefland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 122,086 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 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 20,000 | 28.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 6,500 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,170 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,100 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,713 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,933 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,616 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,088 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 1,700 | 49.5 mi |
Top 7 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 Chiefland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chiefland.
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.