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.
FL
In 2025, fire departments serving Wimauma responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $128K 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. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
513 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 102 | +2.0% | |
| 2024 | 151 | +48.0% | |
| 2025 | 80 | -47.0% |
For the 3 building fires Wimauma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 137 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 | 31 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 23 | 16.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 9.5% |
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 Wimauma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 116 | 84.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 0.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wimauma departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $127,751 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $14,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wimauma sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 57,090 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 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,112 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,000 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,500 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,275 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,939 | 12.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1,674 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 1,600 | 29.2 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 | 33598 | 512 |
Six Florida cities with population within ±25% of Wimauma. 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.