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 Eagle Lake responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +3.6% | |
| 2023 | 27 | -6.9% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -14.8% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -4.3% |
For the 2 building fires Eagle Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 7 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 15.6% |
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 Eagle Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 56.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eagle Lake departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eagle Lake sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 109,235 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 17,000 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,900 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,250 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 3,200 | 29.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Eagle Lake. 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.