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 Ponce de Leon responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
179 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $370K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022* | 7 | — | |
| 2023 | 55 | — | |
| 2024 | 45 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -51.1% |
* Well below Ponce de Leon's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Ponce de Leon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | 13 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 24.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 2.4% |
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 Ponce de Leon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 12.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ponce de Leon departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ponce de Leon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,550 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,380 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 1,200 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 1,100 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,038 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 1,035 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 1,000 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 962 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 869 | 41.2 mi |
Top 6 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 Ponce de Leon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ponce de Leon.
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.