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 Florida City responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
223 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 0 | — | |
| 2022* | 2 | — | |
| 2023 | 31 | — | |
| 2024 | 105 | +238.7% | |
| 2025 | 85 | -19.0% |
* Well below Florida City's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires Florida City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 16 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 11 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 11.9% |
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 Florida City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 47.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 11.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Florida City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Florida City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 430,683 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25,834 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 23,096 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 20,200 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 14,700 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 12,440 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 12,200 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,760 | 5.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 10,423 | 20.5 mi |
Top 8 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 Florida City. 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.