In 2025, fire departments serving Royalton responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -14.3% | |
| 2024 | 25 | +108.3% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -44.0% |
For the 0 building fires Royalton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 15 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 3.4% |
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 Royalton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 72.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Royalton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Royalton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,925 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,725 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,260 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 17.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 830 | 9.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 16.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 663 | 25.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 640 | 24.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Royalton. 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.