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 Deltona responded to 382 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 70% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,688 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 493 | — | |
| 2022 | 798 | +61.9% | |
| 2023 | 498 | -37.6% | |
| 2024 | 517 | +3.8% | |
| 2025 | 382 | -26.1% |
For the 19 building fires Deltona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 260 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 | 43 | 16.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 32 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 31 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 27 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 27 | 10.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 17 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 7 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 19.2% |
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 Deltona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 109 | 41.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 27 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 26 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Deltona departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $236,013 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $186,998 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $76,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Deltona sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 203,541 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 19.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 17.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 23.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 6,263 | 40.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Deltona. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Deltona.
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.