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 Tavares responded to 148 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 42% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
751 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 156 | — | |
| 2022 | 170 | +9.0% | |
| 2023 | 128 | -24.7% | |
| 2024 | 149 | +16.4% | |
| 2025 | 148 | -0.7% |
For the 25 building fires Tavares departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 262 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 | 53 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 29 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 16 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 11 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 7 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 63 | 24.0% |
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 Tavares mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 120 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 25 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 13 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 11 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tavares departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 85% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tavares sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 186,095 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 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,000 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,600 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,560 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 10,240 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,022 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,575 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 6,420 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 5,420 | 27.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 5,000 | 44.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Tavares. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tavares.
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.