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 Wauchula responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Nov peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
534 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $920K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | — | |
| 2022 | 146 | +30.4% | |
| 2023 | 110 | -24.7% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -24.5% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +0.0% |
For the 5 building fires Wauchula departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 141 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 | Undetermined | 34 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 20.6% |
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 Wauchula mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 71 | 50.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 13 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wauchula departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wauchula sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 106,802 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 | 17,000 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,410 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,250 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 3,200 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,175 | 48.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Wauchula. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wauchula.
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.