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 Miami Lakes responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 69% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
231 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $614K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +13.7% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -15.5% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 38 | +8.6% |
For the 1 building fires Miami Lakes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 24 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 8.8% |
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 Miami Lakes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Miami Lakes departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Miami Lakes sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 998,938 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 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 63,599 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 38,131 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 40.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Miami Lakes. 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.