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 Punta Gorda responded to 405 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $204K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,497 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $17.8M cumulative property loss. 6 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 538 | — | |
| 2022 | 557 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 435 | -21.9% | |
| 2024 | 562 | +29.2% | |
| 2025 | 405 | -27.9% |
For the 35 building fires Punta Gorda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 950 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 | 256 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 112 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 110 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 103 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 101 | 10.6% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 43 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 23 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 17 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 15 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 150 | 15.8% |
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 Punta Gorda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 420 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 79 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 68 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 47 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 46 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 45 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 37 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 29 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 25 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 25 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 129 | 13.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Punta Gorda departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 55% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $204,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $128,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $128,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $128,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Punta Gorda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 2 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 57,758 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 7,104 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 4,450 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,112 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,400 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,100 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,865 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,660 | 33.9 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 Punta Gorda. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Punta Gorda.
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.