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 Key Largo responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Key Largo's departments reported 13 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 54 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
271 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -56.0% | |
| 2023 | 97 | +193.9% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -45.4% | |
| 2025* | 13 | — |
* Well below Key Largo'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 Key Largo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 13 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 17.4% |
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 Key Largo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 56.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Candle | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Key Largo departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Key Largo sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 275,516 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 20,200 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 12,440 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,760 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 10,423 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 8,427 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 8,000 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,491 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 6,175 | 31.4 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 Key Largo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Key Largo.
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.