32,253+ fire departments tracked
Multi-source vintages Public-data reference HIFLD · USFA · FEMA FY2003–2024

How well is your fire department equipped?

Coverage, response capacity, equipment inventories and federal grant histories for 32,253 US departments, drawn from HIFLD station records, USFA national fire statistics, and FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant awards.

Searchable directory of 38k+ US fire depts from HIFLD data with state/county rankings, USFA fire stats, and safety guides.

Choose a state to open its fire department, staffing, and annual fire-data profile.

Or browse by state all departments rankings
Fire departments
32,253
States & DC
51
Personnel on record
898,677
Counties covered
3,168

The national picture

USFA data across 32,253 tracked fire departments shows the most common cause of fires isn't the most lethal one: cooking starts the most fires (49% share), but smoking materials kills the most, at 25% of deaths against just 6% of fires, a 4.2× overrepresentation in fatalities.

32,253
US fire departments tracked
54%
of departments are volunteer
25%
of deaths: smoking materials
4.2×
smoking materials death overrepresentation

USFA national fire-incident-cause shares as stored in this database; see /methodology for source detail.

According to USFA/NFIRS · extract 2026

According to USFA National Fire Statistics in this extract, California leads reported annual fires at 168,000 (#1 of 51) while West Virginia leads the per-million fire-death rate at 31.1 (#1 of 51); California's death-rate rank on that ladder is #40.

168,000
California fires (#1 of 51)
31.1
West Virginia deaths/million (#1 of 51)
#40
California death-rate rank
4.2
Hawaii deaths/million (lowest)

Volume rank is not death-rate rank. NFIRS participation varies by state. Registry figures, not a safety grade. For informational purposes; does not constitute fire-safety or insurance advice.

32,253 US fire departments tracked

PlainFireData profiles 32,253 US fire departments across 3,168 county-equivalents from HIFLD station records, USFA/NFIRS state fire statistics, and FEMA AFG/SAFER awards (FY2003–2024). 54% of registered departments are volunteer. According to USFA, Cooking leads residential fire causes. Populations stay source-scoped; see /methodology.

  • 54% of departments are volunteer (HIFLD share)
  • Leading residential cause: Cooking (49% of fires)
  • Grant awards span FY2003–2024

Seasonal wildfire acre totals by fire-size class are published on the NIFC wildfire statistics page. This homepage tables USFA/HIFLD department and fire-death fields we actually store.

What the federal data reveals

Patterns computed live across 32,253 departments, 50 states, and national USFA fire statistics.

52%
of departments are volunteer
averaged across states; 54% of all US departments are volunteer
49%
from cooking
the single leading cause of US home fires
25%
of deaths: smoking materials
deadliest cause, far above its 6% of fires
3,645
fire deaths a year
reported across all states in USFA statistics

Largest Fire Departments by Personnel

View all rankings
1
Baltimore County Fire Department
Towson, MD · volunteer
6,545
personnel
2
Houston Fire Department
Houston, TX · career
3,815
personnel
3
Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association
Frederick, MD · volunteer
2,807
personnel
4
Dallas Fire-Rescue
Dallas, TX · career
2,030
personnel
5
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Perris Station
Perris, CA · career
2,030
personnel
6
Prince Georges County Fire Department
Largo, MD · volunteer
1,981
personnel
7
San Francisco Fire Department
San Francisco, CA · career
1,835
personnel
8
City of Memphis Division of Fire
Memphis, TN · career
1,808
personnel

Leading Causes of US Home Fires

Share of residential fires by cause

% of fires

What this shows Cooking is the leading cause, accounting for 49% of US home fires. Smoking materials cause a far larger share of deaths than fires, a reminder that the most common causes are not always the deadliest.

Source U.S. Fire Administration / NFPA residential fire cause estimates As of 2024

States: Highest Annual Fire Deaths

USFA annual fire deaths for every jurisdiction that reports a non-zero total in this extract, highest first.

# State Deaths Depts
1 California 346 1,309
2 Texas 241 1,879
3 Florida 206 758
4 New York 150 2,253
5 Ohio 138 1,501
6 North Carolina 131 1,534
7 Georgia 128 868
8 Illinois 127 1,493
9 Pennsylvania 115 2,427
10 Tennessee 115 921
11 Michigan 112 1,274
12 Louisiana 96 786
13 Missouri 95 1,128
14 Indiana 94 969
15 Kentucky 93 981
16 Arizona 91 322
17 Virginia 86 766
18 Alabama 84 1,302
19 South Carolina 75 689
20 New Jersey 70 999
21 Arkansas 68 1,168
22 Oklahoma 68 1,049
23 Washington 68 483
24 Maryland 67 379
25 Mississippi 63 751
26 Colorado 55 575
27 West Virginia 55 511
28 Wisconsin 54 961
29 Massachusetts 51 568
30 Minnesota 48 883
31 Kansas 45 773
32 Oregon 42 465
33 Nevada 40 156
34 Iowa 39 810
35 Connecticut 34 418
36 New Mexico 32 446
37 Nebraska 26 511
38 Utah 26 271
39 Idaho 23 292
40 Maine 20 497
41 Montana 19 416
42 Alaska 18 286
43 South Dakota 17 365
44 North Dakota 13 338
45 Delaware 11 80
46 Vermont 11 250
47 New Hampshire 10 293
48 Wyoming 10 167
49 Rhode Island 9 111
50 Hawaii 6 43
51 District of Columbia 4 3
See all state rankings →

Most Volunteer Fire Departments

North Dakota 72% volunteer depts
Arkansas 71% volunteer depts
West Virginia 70% volunteer depts
Iowa 70% volunteer depts
Delaware 70% volunteer depts

Explore the Data

Each dot is one state. Median volunteer-department share: 54%. Median fatality rate: 2 deaths per 1,000 fires. Source: USFA state fire statistics; this shows correlation across states, not a causal claim about response times. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by % of departments that are volunteer (X) and Fire deaths per 1,000 fires (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Volunteer-heavy · higher fatality rateCareer-heavy · higher fatality rateVolunteer-heavy · lower fatality rateCareer-heavy · lower fatality rate 0%20%40%60%80% 012345 % of departments that are volunteer Fire deaths per 1,000 fires Volunteer staffing vs. fire-fatality rate, by state 50 states Alabama - 50.5%, 2.9Alaska - 37.8%, 4.4Arizona - 35.1%, 2.5Arkansas - 71.1%, 3.4California - 39.6%, 2.1Colorado - 40.7%, 1.9Connecticut - 47.6%, 1.6Delaware - 70%, 1.5Florida - 24.3%, 1.9Georgia - 29.8%, 2.3Hawaii - 2.3%, 1Idaho - 50.3%, 2.2Illinois - 55.3%, 1.8Indiana - 55.2%, 2.2Iowa - 70.1%, 1.7Kansas - 0.1%, 2.2Kentucky - 58%, 3Louisiana - 34.1%, 3.2Maine - 57.9%, 2Maryland - 57.8%, 2Massachusetts - 34.5%, 1.3Michigan - 61%, 2.1Minnesota - 68.2%, 1.7Mississippi - 37.3%, 3.3Missouri - 51.7%, 2.2Montana - 53.8%, 2.2Nebraska - 50.3%, 1.9Nevada - 64.1%, 2.2New Hampshire - 62.5%, 1New Jersey - 54.1%, 1.4
Each dot is one state. Median volunteer-department share: 54%. Median fatality rate: 2 deaths per 1,000 fires. Source: USFA state fire statistics; this shows correlation across states, not a causal claim about response times.
Data Note: Fire department data sourced from HIFLD Open Data (FEMA/DHS) and USFA published statistics. Station and staffing data may not reflect all departments equally. Not all departments participate in all federal reporting programs. For emergency response times, contact your local fire department directly.

Fire Safety Guides

Data-driven fire safety education from federal USFA and HIFLD sources.

Home Fire Prevention

USFA data on leading causes and evidence-based prevention steps.

Volunteer Fire Departments

Over 70% of US fire departments rely on volunteers.

Fire Safety by State

State-level fire statistics from USFA data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does PlainFireData get its data?

Four federal populations, kept separate: HIFLD for station/department registry fields; USFA/NFIRS for state annual fire totals (typically lag 1–2 years); FEMA AFG/SAFER awards as cumulative dollars across FY2003–2024; and Census Vintage 2024 (POPESTIMATE2023) only as a per-capita denominator. We never mix those years into one unlabeled “current year” figure.

How many fire departments does PlainFireData cover?

PlainFireData tracks 32,253 fire departments across 3,168 county-equivalent jurisdictions (the US has 3,143 counties; the additional entries cover Census-recognized boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana plus other Census subdivisions) and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The database covers career, volunteer, and combination departments.

Is PlainFireData free?

Yes, PlainFireData is completely free. You can look up fire department data, compare counties, and browse state-level statistics without any account or payment.

What is the difference between career and volunteer departments?

Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters, volunteer departments rely on unpaid volunteers, and combination departments use a mix of both. PlainFireData shows the department type for each station in the database.

Guides & Analysis

Editorial research and plain-language explainers from our team. Every guide is written to help you read the underlying public data correctly.

Reading Fire Department Data

Read the full guide →

Fire Safety By State

Read the full guide →

Wildfire Preparedness

Read the full guide →

Research

Original analysis from our editorial process, every statistic derived from our own database. See all research.

Research

Top States by Fire Department Personnel

A live NFIRS rollup ranking states by total fire-service workforce across career, volunteer, and combination departments, rendered from the state_stats table at request time.

 Research

States That Rely Most on Volunteer Departments

Which states have the highest share of primarily-volunteer fire departments, and how that tracks with rural geography, a live ranking from the state_stats table.

 Research

Fire Departments per Capita by State

Department density adjusted for population (departments per 100,000 residents), using HIFLD counts and 2023 US Census population, rural states lead, dense states trail.

About this data

How PlainFireData works, and why you can trust these numbers

What this site is

PlainFireData is a plain-language reference for U.S. fire department staffing, capabilities, and coverage. We turn HIFLD fire-station infrastructure data, USFA/NFIRS national fire statistics, and FEMA firefighter grant records into a searchable database of 32,253 departments (36,454 stations after FDID aggregation), with every figure traceable to its issuing federal agency.

Editorial process

  1. Source. Pull fire-station records directly from the HIFLD (DHS/CISA) Open Data set, state-level fire statistics from USFA/NFIRS, and grant records from the OpenFEMA portal.
  2. Verify. Station locations, personnel counts, and equipment inventories are presented as reported by participating agencies; missing data is shown as unavailable, never estimated or interpolated.
  3. Publish. Compile per-department profiles evaluated against NFPA staffing and apparatus standards, linking back to the issuing federal agency so readers can audit our record against the original source.

Editorial independence & corrections

The PlainFireData editorial process is independent and is not affiliated with DHS, CISA, USFA, FEMA, or any government agency. Found an error or a stale record? See our corrections policy to report it. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.

Frequently asked

Where does PlainFireData get its data?

Four federal populations, kept separate: HIFLD for station/department registry fields; USFA/NFIRS for state annual fire totals (typically lag 1–2 years); FEMA AFG/SAFER awards as cumulative dollars across FY2003–2024; and Census Vintage 2024 (POPESTIMATE2023) only as a per-capita denominator. We never mix those years into one unlabeled “current year” figure.

How many fire departments does PlainFireData cover?

PlainFireData tracks 32,253 fire departments across 3,168 county-equivalent jurisdictions (the US has 3,143 counties; the additional entries cover Census-recognized boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana plus other Census subdivisions) and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The database covers career, volunteer, and combination departments.

Is PlainFireData free?

Yes, PlainFireData is completely free. You can look up fire department data, compare counties, and browse state-level statistics without any account or payment.

What is the difference between career and volunteer departments?

Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters, volunteer departments rely on unpaid volunteers, and combination departments use a mix of both. PlainFireData shows the department type for each station in the database.