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 Englewood responded to 207 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,579 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 343 | — | |
| 2022 | 524 | +52.8% | |
| 2023 | 228 | -56.5% | |
| 2024 | 277 | +21.5% | |
| 2025 | 207 | -25.3% |
For the 12 building fires Englewood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 297 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 | 60 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 36 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 33 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 15 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 13 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 61 | 20.5% |
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 Englewood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 41 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 34 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 31 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 25 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 16 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 41 | 13.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Englewood departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $42,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $38,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Englewood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 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 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 4 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 49,697 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 7,104 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,112 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,400 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,100 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,865 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,660 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,425 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,400 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,350 | 14.7 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 Englewood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Englewood.
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.