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 Temple Terrace responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $232K 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 69% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
499 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 113 | +16.5% | |
| 2023 | 87 | -23.0% | |
| 2024 | 141 | +62.1% | |
| 2025 | 61 | -56.7% |
For the 5 building fires Temple Terrace departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 18.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 27.0% |
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 Temple Terrace mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 45.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Temple Terrace departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $232,436 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $172,618 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $163,177 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $29,020 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,114 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Temple Terrace sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 51,711 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,507 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,189 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 2,000 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,775 | 37.6 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 Temple Terrace. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Temple Terrace.
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.