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 Lady Lake responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $235K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
597 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +25.2% | |
| 2023 | 134 | +3.9% | |
| 2024 | 150 | +11.9% | |
| 2025 | 81 | -46.0% |
For the 5 building fires Lady Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 226 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 | 47 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 34 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 16 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 17.3% |
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 Lady Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 103 | 45.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lady Lake departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $235,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lady Lake sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 93,378 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 4,200 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 4,014 | 24.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 3,800 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,701 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,149 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,111 | 19.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Lady Lake. 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.