ZIP 33898 recorded 153 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 782 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Polk County, FL. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
782 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 196 | |
| 2022 | 133 | |
| 2023 | 133 | |
| 2024 | 167 | |
| 2025 | 153 |
May peaks. Oct dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 33898 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unauthorized burning | 186 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 122 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Power line down | 96 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 63 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Passenger vehicle fire | 49 | 6.3% |
For the 12 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 33898 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 90 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 37 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 36 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 14 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 10 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 57 | 20.1% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 165 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 14 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 44 | 15.5% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 33898 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 191% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Major |
| 2 | $210,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 6 | $95,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 7 | $90,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 8 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | 2021 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 33898.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Wales | 771 | |
| 2 | Babson Park | 4 | |
| 3 | Dundee | 2 | |
| 4 | Mulberry | 2 | |
| 5 | Bartow | 1 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 782 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.