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 Zolfo Springs responded to 79 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K building blaze. 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 65% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
318 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $822K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | +20.3% | |
| 2023 | 69 | -2.8% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -42.0% | |
| 2025 | 79 | +97.5% |
For the 3 building fires Zolfo Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 19 | 26.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 24.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 15.1% |
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 Zolfo Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 60.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Zolfo Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $41,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Zolfo Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 113,985 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 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10,119 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 7,104 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,964 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,932 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,837 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,410 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,200 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,200 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 4,018 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,250 | 35.8 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 Zolfo Springs. 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.