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 Lawtey responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 72% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $527K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 6 | — | |
| 2022* | 11 | — | |
| 2023 | 35 | — | |
| 2024 | 31 | -11.4% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +51.6% |
* Well below Lawtey'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 6 building fires Lawtey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 18.9% |
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 Lawtey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lawtey departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lawtey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 713,447 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Natural | 152,515 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 124,110 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 123,014 | 35.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 69,060 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,936 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 34,660 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 28,985 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,100 | 32.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 16,100 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,626 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 12,753 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 11,025 | 34.8 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 Lawtey. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lawtey.
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.