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 Frostproof responded to 86 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 80% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
488 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +49.3% | |
| 2023 | 90 | -15.1% | |
| 2024 | 135 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 86 | -36.3% |
For the 5 building fires Frostproof departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 225 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 | 82 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 56 | 24.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 21 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 10.2% |
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 Frostproof mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 133 | 59.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Match | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Frostproof departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Frostproof sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 130,603 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 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,564 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 18.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 4,018 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,900 | 44.9 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 Frostproof. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Frostproof.
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.