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 Nokomis responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $413K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
187 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 7 | — | |
| 2022* | 18 | — | |
| 2023 | 71 | — | |
| 2024 | 51 | -28.2% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -21.6% |
* Well below Nokomis'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 8 building fires Nokomis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 9 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.5% |
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 Nokomis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 56.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nokomis departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $413,400 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $365,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nokomis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 43,175 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,112 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,400 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 15.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,425 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,400 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,350 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 1,325 | 27.7 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 Nokomis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nokomis.
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.