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 Ocklawaha responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $164K 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 66% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
787 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +15.8% | |
| 2023 | 184 | +19.5% | |
| 2024 | 182 | -1.1% | |
| 2025 | 134 | -26.4% |
For the 5 building fires Ocklawaha departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 180 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 | Wildland, woods | 35 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 25 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 17 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 18.9% |
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 Ocklawaha mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 85 | 47.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ocklawaha departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $163,622 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $74,842 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ocklawaha sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 141,309 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 5,136 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 4,200 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 4,014 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 4,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 3,950 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 3,800 | 43.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32179 | 787 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Ocklawaha. 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.