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 LaBelle responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
91 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $113K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | -45.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +63.6% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +27.8% | |
| 2025 | 19 | -17.4% |
For the 0 building fires LaBelle departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 22 | 46.8% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 2.1% |
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 LaBelle mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 38.3% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by LaBelle departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. LaBelle sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 550,867 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 63,599 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 43,561 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38,100 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 38,000 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 29,112 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 24,315 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 23,250 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 22,488 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 21,963 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,300 | 44.8 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 LaBelle. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in LaBelle.
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.