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 Sebastian responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 36% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
656 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 123 | — | |
| 2022 | 186 | +51.2% | |
| 2023 | 128 | -31.2% | |
| 2024 | 120 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -17.5% |
For the 4 building fires Sebastian departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 143 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 16.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 21 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 18 | 12.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 21.7% |
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 Sebastian mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sebastian departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sebastian sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 130,696 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 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,564 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,000 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 7,000 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,981 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,500 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,835 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 4,018 | 34.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Sebastian. 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.