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 Southwest Ranches responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 49% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $13.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | -22.0% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -20.3% | |
| 2024 | 72 | +41.2% | |
| 2025 | 70 | -2.8% |
For the 2 building fires Southwest Ranches departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 117 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 | 27 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Closet | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 14.5% |
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 Southwest Ranches mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 48.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Southwest Ranches departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $14,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Southwest Ranches sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,004,426 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 63,599 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 20.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 38,131 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 44.5 mi |
Top 9 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 Southwest Ranches. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Southwest Ranches.
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.