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 Jasper responded to 107 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
562 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 114 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | +20.2% | |
| 2023 | 130 | -5.1% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -43.1% | |
| 2025 | 107 | +44.6% |
For the 5 building fires Jasper departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 254 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 | 89 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 31 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 30 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 26 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 10.6% |
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 Jasper mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 145 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Lightning | 15 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jasper departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jasper sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,273,238 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 309,200 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 191,474 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 152,515 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 124,110 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 123,014 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 69,060 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 57,200 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,936 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 34,660 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 28,985 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,100 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 20,000 | 44.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Jasper. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jasper.
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.