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 Lake Mary responded to 198 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
990 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 157 | — | |
| 2022 | 218 | +38.9% | |
| 2023 | 206 | -5.5% | |
| 2024 | 211 | +2.4% | |
| 2025 | 198 | -6.2% |
For the 10 building fires Lake Mary departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 135 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 37 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 10 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 24.4% |
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 Lake Mary mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 16.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 12.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Mary departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $225,185 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $130,824 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $17,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Mary sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 208,474 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 37.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 23.1 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 Lake Mary. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Mary.
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.