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 Oldsmar responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
487 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $469K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 106 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | +1.9% | |
| 2023 | 79 | -26.9% | |
| 2024 | 120 | +51.9% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -38.3% |
For the 11 building fires Oldsmar departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 14 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 18.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Assembly or sales area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 24.6% |
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 Oldsmar mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 57.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oldsmar sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
72 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 | 8 | |
| 30-39 | 36 | |
| 40-49 | 19 | |
| 50-59 | 8 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,914 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 2,000 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 1,427 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 1,300 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 1,287 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 1,000 | 17.2 mi |
Top 7 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 Oldsmar. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oldsmar.
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.