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 North Bay Village responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 89% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $176K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -31.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -15.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +64.7% |
For the 0 building fires North Bay Village 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 6.5% |
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 North Bay Village mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Bay Village departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Bay Village sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 878,435 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 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 26,428 | 41.1 mi |
Top 10 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 North Bay Village. 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.