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 Sanibel responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
409 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $18.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | +104.3% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -58.0% | |
| 2024 | 73 | +21.7% | |
| 2025 | 63 | -13.7% |
For the 1 building fires Sanibel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | Outside area, other | 13 | 16.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 20.8% |
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 Sanibel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 41.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 20 | 26.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sanibel departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sanibel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 180,547 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 18,027 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 17,000 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 16,500 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,627 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,466 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,250 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 8,063 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,000 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,230 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 7,104 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,068 | 33.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33957 | 409 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Sanibel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sanibel.
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.