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 Loxahatchee Groves responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
192 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $633K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | — | |
| 2023 | 42 | +5.0% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +14.3% |
* Well below Loxahatchee Groves'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 1 building fires Loxahatchee Groves departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 16.1% |
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 Loxahatchee Groves mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 61.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Loxahatchee Groves departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Loxahatchee Groves sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 800,348 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38,100 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 38,000 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 24.1 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 Loxahatchee Groves. 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.