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 Gulfport responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
470 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $819K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +28.8% | |
| 2023 | 70 | -25.5% | |
| 2024 | 174 | +148.6% | |
| 2025 | 59 | -66.1% |
For the 6 building fires Gulfport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 18 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 19.4% |
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 Gulfport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 49.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Candle | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gulfport departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gulfport sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
35 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 | 8 | |
| 30-39 | 16 | |
| 40-49 | 7 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 39,914 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 1,300 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 1,287 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 47.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Gulfport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gulfport.
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.