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 Doral responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $900K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
558 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 146 | — | |
| 2022 | 121 | -17.1% | |
| 2023 | 86 | -28.9% | |
| 2024 | 106 | +23.3% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -6.6% |
For the 10 building fires Doral departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 157 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 | 44 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 35 | 22.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Closet | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 20.4% |
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 Doral mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 36 | 22.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 14 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 11 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Candle | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Doral departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $900,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Doral sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 995,338 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 63,599 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 38,131 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 35.4 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 Doral. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.