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 Dunnellon responded to 488 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $285K 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 57% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,230 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $6.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 368 | — | |
| 2022 | 425 | +15.5% | |
| 2023 | 464 | +9.2% | |
| 2024 | 485 | +4.5% | |
| 2025 | 488 | +0.6% |
For the 28 building fires Dunnellon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 565 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 | 142 | 25.1% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 82 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 69 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 58 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 53 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 11 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 101 | 17.9% |
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 Dunnellon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 280 | 49.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 37 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 33 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 24 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 19 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 15 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 14 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 89 | 15.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dunnellon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 74% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $284,943 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $280,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $276,699 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $152,354 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $92,032 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $81,360 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunnellon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
14 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,520 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 4,014 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,713 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 15.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,149 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,111 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,616 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 2,015 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 2,000 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,918 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,775 | 48.3 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 Dunnellon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dunnellon.
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.