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 Valrico responded to 100 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
712 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 123 | — | |
| 2022 | 155 | +26.0% | |
| 2023 | 138 | -11.0% | |
| 2024 | 196 | +42.0% | |
| 2025 | 100 | -49.0% |
For the 11 building fires Valrico departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 135 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 | 22 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 21.5% |
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 Valrico mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 117 | 86.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 0.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Valrico departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $160,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $144,700 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $9,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Valrico sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 52,347 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 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,407 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,507 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,189 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 2,000 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,775 | 40.7 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 Valrico. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.