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 Geneva responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
394 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $936K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +57.1% | |
| 2023 | 90 | +2.3% | |
| 2024 | 85 | -5.6% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -11.8% |
For the 1 building fires Geneva departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | Outside area, other | 13 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.0% |
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 Geneva mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Geneva departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Geneva sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 205,355 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 9.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 17.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 17.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Geneva. 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.