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 Jensen Beach responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
566 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | +5.4% | |
| 2023 | 135 | +14.4% | |
| 2024 | 120 | -11.1% | |
| 2025 | 81 | -32.5% |
For the 11 building fires Jensen Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 200 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 | 43 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 25 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 17.5% |
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 Jensen Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 82 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 20 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 12 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 24 | 12.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jensen Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jensen Beach sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
12 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 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 3 | |
| 60-69 | 3 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 96,296 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 23,250 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,783 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,000 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,308 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,620 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,300 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,960 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 45.1 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 Jensen Beach. 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.