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 Polk City responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 86% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
534 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 115 | +51.3% | |
| 2023 | 100 | -13.0% | |
| 2024 | 114 | +14.0% | |
| 2025 | 129 | +13.2% |
For the 8 building fires Polk City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 197 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 40 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 36 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 35 | 17.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 14.7% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 15.2% |
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 Polk City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 111 | 56.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Polk City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Polk City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 77,147 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 | 10,119 | 3.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,900 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 3,200 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,000 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,507 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,300 | 23.2 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 Polk City. 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.