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 Tavernier responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jun peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
52 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $215K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 8 | -20.0% | |
| 2023 | 11 | +37.5% | |
| 2024 | 9 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 14 | +55.6% |
For the 0 building fires Tavernier departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 10 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 1 | 10.0% |
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 Tavernier mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 3 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 30.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tavernier departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tavernier sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 191,159 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 30,636 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 12,440 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,760 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 10,423 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 8,500 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 8,427 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 8,000 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,491 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 6,175 | 28.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,948 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 4,134 | 36.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33070 | 52 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Tavernier. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tavernier.
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.