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 Lecanto responded to 120 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $189K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
534 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 103 | +24.1% | |
| 2023 | 123 | +19.4% | |
| 2024 | 105 | -14.6% | |
| 2025 | 120 | +14.3% |
For the 5 building fires Lecanto departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | 27 | 32.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 20.7% |
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 Lecanto mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 61.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lecanto departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $188,599 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $116,460 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $19,494 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lecanto sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
8 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 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 39,524 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,616 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,507 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,189 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 2,000 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,775 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 1,700 | 8.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 1,700 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 1,551 | 44.7 mi |
Top 8 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 Lecanto. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lecanto.
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.