The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the State Fire Marshal are investigating a death that occurred during a residential fire Friday evening at the 2500 block of Richardson Road in Bartow, Florida.
The State Fire Marshal is tasked with determining the cause of the fire, while the medical examiner will perform an autopsy on the victim. At this early stage, the fire does not appear to be suspicious, per the PCSO.
In Polk County, Florida, residential fires pose a significant risk, with an average of over 100 structure fires reported annually in recent years, according to data from Polk County Fire Rescue cited in their public safety reports on polk-county.net. Nothing further at this time.
