ZIP 50265 recorded 115 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 779 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Polk County, IA. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
779 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 185 | |
| 2022 | 151 | |
| 2023 | 175 | |
| 2024 | 153 | |
| 2025 | 115 |
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 50265 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 120 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | 83 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Unauthorized burning | 71 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 70 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking fire, confined to container | 63 | 8.1% |
For the 3 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 50265 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooking area, kitchen | 57 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 35 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 31 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 68 | 26.8% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 90 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 28 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 24 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 47 | 18.5% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 50265 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 2456% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 4 | $84,800 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 7 | $45,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
| 8 | $40,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 50265.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Des Moines | 773 | |
| 2 | Clive | 2 | |
| 3 | Des Moines | 1 | |
| 4 | Norwalk | 1 |
Some ZIPs span multiple counties. The primary above is the largest by population weight; secondary counties are below.
| County | State | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County | IA | 0.50 | FIPS 19049 |
| Madison County | IA | 0.50 | FIPS 19121 |
| Warren County | IA | 0.50 | FIPS 19181 |
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 — 779 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.