Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Altoona City Fire Department

Altoona, IA · Polk County. Altoona City Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 38 total personnel. The department also provides EMS services. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

38
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Altoona City Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount well above the Iowa average.

Top 30%
national personnel size
+90%
vs. Iowa average
1
station
$709,130
FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record

National percentile ranks this department's personnel headcount against every listable U.S. department with reported staffing; the state comparison uses the same personnel figure against its own state's average. Both feed the verdict sentence and the chips above.

B
PlainFireData Composite Score
72/100
Altoona City Fire Department

A staffing, equipment, EMS-integration, and federal-grant-funding composite benchmarked against every other USFA-registered department nationally, not a safety rating, response-time measure, or comparison of fire risk. Dimensions with no data on file are excluded and their weight redistributed, never counted as zero.

Staffing capacity A
38 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness
No vehicle count on file for this department
EMS integration
No EMS staffing breakdown on file
Federal investment B
$18,661 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
38 personnel · 1 station

Altoona City Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Altoona, IA (Polk County), with 1 station and 38 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #6,645 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $709,130.

  • National personnel rank #6,645 of 22,440
  • IA personnel rank #69 of 589
  • 2.63 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 21 other listed departments in Polk County

Altoona City Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department

38 Top 30% higher than 70% of 22,440 departments

Listable U.S. fire departments, banded by total personnel

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more departments. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source HIFLD fire-station registry · 2026-09-06

Dispatch plate

Sheet 77002 · Altoona City Fire Department, IA 38 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 38
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #6,645
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Clarkson-Fame Vol…
  • FEMA-MID $709K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Clarkson-Fame Volunteer Fire Department, MS (+ 0 personnel)

Volunteer HIFLD roster counts, station rows, EMS flag, listable personnel rank, photo-finish peer, and FEMA AFG/SAFER book for this FDID, not a readiness rating.

Personnel neighbourhood

Nationwide HIFLD headcount poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IA department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Altoona, IA
FDID
77002

FEMA Grant History

$709K
Cumulative funding (FY2018)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2018 EMW2016FH00246 $709,129.62

Source: USAspending.gov (CFDA 97.044 AFG / 97.083 SAFER)

Staffing vs the Iowa average

How Altoona City Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Iowa. In-state it ranks #69 of 589 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #6,645 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 90% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
39
IA departments
810

County roster fringe

Altoona City Fire Department is 3.9% of Polk County roster mass

The county lists 23 departments totaling 985 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 87% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

2.63 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 38 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Clarkson-Fame Volunteer Fire Department, MS (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Bondurant Emergency Services
Bondurant · volunteer
Camp Dodge Fire Department
Johnston · other
Clive Fire Department
Clive · volunteer
Delaware Township Fire Department
Des Moines · other
All IA departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 38 personnel

Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every IA department.

Clarkson-Fame Volunteer Fire Department, MS 38 Burghill -Vernon Volunteer Fire Department, OH 38 Waldens Creek Volunteer Fire Department, TN 38 East Marshall Fire Department, KY 38 Scipio-Republic Fire Department, OH 38 Northwood Fire Rescue - Ridge Station, NH 38 Dewey Volunteer Fire Department, OK 38 Hendron Fire Department, KY 38

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Altoona City Fire Department have?

Altoona City Fire Department has 38 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 90% above the Iowa average of 20 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #6,645 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within IA, it ranks #69 of 589 by personnel.

Does Altoona City Fire Department provide EMS services?

Yes, Altoona City Fire Department provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in addition to fire response.

How many fire stations does Altoona City Fire Department operate?

Altoona City Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Altoona City Fire Department?

Altoona City Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Polk County, IA. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Altoona City Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Altoona City Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $709,129.62 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2018 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2018.

How many fire departments are in Iowa?

Iowa has 810 fire departments with 16,337 total personnel. 70% are volunteer departments.

Related guides

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Verify with USFA/FEMA →

HIFLD/USFA registry extract, informational only, not a readiness rating.