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 Lynn Haven responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 46% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
436 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | +6.5% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +10.2% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -31.7% |
For the 5 building fires Lynn Haven departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | 38 | 24.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 30 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 19.9% |
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 Lynn Haven mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 31.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 19 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 11.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lynn Haven departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $23,124 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lynn Haven sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,055 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 8,080 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,498 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,400 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,384 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,983 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,614 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,367 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,073 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,848 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 46.7 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 Lynn Haven. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lynn Haven.
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.