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 Seville responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 91% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
62 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $180K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -6.7% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -35.7% | |
| 2024 | 13 | +44.4% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -15.4% |
For the 0 building fires Seville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Seville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Lightning | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Seville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Seville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 205,783 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Natural | 39,000 | 19.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 26,900 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,626 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 28.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 13.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 15.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,145 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 21.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 5,679 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 19.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Seville. 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.