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 Wilton Manors responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 67% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
276 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 3 | — | |
| 2022* | 32 | — | |
| 2023 | 101 | — | |
| 2024 | 77 | -23.8% | |
| 2025 | 63 | -18.2% |
* Well below Wilton Manors's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Wilton Manors departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Arena, assembly area w/ fixed seats - 100+ persons | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 32.6% |
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 Wilton Manors mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 30.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wilton Manors departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wilton Manors sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 892,175 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 158,000 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 68,295 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 62,404 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 57,000 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 49,500 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 42,000 | 32.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,465 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39,000 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 29,937 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 29,250 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 27,000 | 43.6 mi |
Top 7 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 Wilton Manors. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wilton Manors.
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.