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 South Daytona responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
208 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $627K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 5 | — | |
| 2022* | 18 | — | |
| 2023 | 68 | — | |
| 2024 | 63 | -7.4% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -14.3% |
* Well below South Daytona'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 7 building fires South Daytona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 23.6% |
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 South Daytona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 43.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Daytona departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Daytona sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 219,582 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 | 12.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 26,900 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 5.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 28.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,302 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,145 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 12.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 6,263 | 47.6 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 South Daytona. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Daytona.
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.