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 Green Cove Springs responded to 157 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
167 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $521K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 5 | — | |
| 2022* | 3 | — | |
| 2023* | 1 | — | |
| 2024* | 1 | — | |
| 2025 | 157 | — |
* Well below Green Cove Springs'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 11 building fires Green Cove Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 14 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 23.1% |
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 Green Cove Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 13.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Green Cove Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 84% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Green Cove Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 151,700 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 26,900 | 32.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 16,100 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,626 | 26.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 12,753 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,145 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,800 | 24.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 6,500 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 5,679 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 5,136 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 4,500 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,170 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 4,000 | 44.7 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 Green Cove Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Green Cove Springs.
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.