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 Poinciana responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 72% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
386 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +34.9% | |
| 2023 | 86 | +1.2% | |
| 2024 | 85 | -1.2% | |
| 2025 | 67 | -21.2% |
For the 10 building fires Poinciana departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 27 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 22 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 16.4% |
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 Poinciana mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 9 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Poinciana departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Poinciana sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 150,715 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 17,000 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,564 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,304 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 38.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Poinciana. 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.