ZIP 49098 recorded 76 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 290 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Berrien County, MI.
290 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | |
| 2022 | 60 | |
| 2023 | 51 | |
| 2024 | 50 | |
| 2025 | 76 |
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 49098 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 65 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 60 | 20.7% | |
| 3 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 24 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Passenger vehicle fire | 20 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 14 | 4.8% |
For the 11 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 49098 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 27 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 28 | 27.7% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 8 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 49098 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 378% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 4 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 5 | $12,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 6 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | 2023 | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | 2023 | Significant |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 49098.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watervliet | 266 | |
| 2 | Benton Harbor | 4 |
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 — 290 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.