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 North Port responded to 497 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 56% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,744 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.8M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 497 | — | |
| 2022 | 643 | +29.4% | |
| 2023 | 516 | -19.8% | |
| 2024 | 591 | +14.5% | |
| 2025 | 497 | -15.9% |
For the 18 building fires North Port departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 351 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 | 96 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 37 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 28 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 23 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 15 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 15 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 95 | 27.1% |
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 North Port mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 122 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 42 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 34 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 33 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 22 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 33 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Port departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 75% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $160,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Port sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
12 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 4 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 53,669 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 7,104 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,112 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,400 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,100 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,865 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,660 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,450 | 49.7 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 Port. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Port.
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.