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 Jennings responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
212 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $166K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | -3.1% | |
| 2023 | 60 | +93.5% | |
| 2024* | 19 | — | |
| 2025 | 70 | — |
* Well below Jennings'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 1 building fires Jennings departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | 45 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 7.3% |
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 Jennings mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 74 | 67.3% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jennings departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jennings sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 990,349 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 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 152,515 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 124,110 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 123,014 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 69,060 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,936 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 34,660 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 28,985 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,100 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 14,128 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,485 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 11,025 | 39.5 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 Jennings. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jennings.
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.