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 White Springs responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
146 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $881K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +34.6% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -25.7% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -23.1% |
For the 2 building fires White Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | 22 | 26.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 22.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 17.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 11.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 3.7% |
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 White Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 45.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 12.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. White Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,273,993 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 309,200 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 191,474 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 152,515 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 124,110 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 123,014 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 69,060 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 57,200 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,936 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 34,660 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 28,985 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,100 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 20,000 | 37.6 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 | 32096 | 146 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of White Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in White Springs.
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.