Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Altoona Fire Department

Altoona, PA · Blair County. Altoona Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 5 stations and 67 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.

67
Total personnel
5
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Altoona Fire Department pairs top-10% national personnel with a headcount well above the Pennsylvania average.

Top 9%
national personnel size
+91%
vs. Pennsylvania average
5
stations
$2,751,771
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.

C
PlainFireData Composite Score
47/100
Altoona 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 F
13.4 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 A
$41,071 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
67 personnel · 5 stations

Altoona Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Altoona, PA (Blair County), with 5 stations and 67 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #2,073 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $2,751,771.

  • National personnel rank #2,073 of 22,440
  • PA personnel rank #177 of 1,275
  • 7.46 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 18 other listed departments in Blair County

Altoona Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

67 Top 9% higher than 91% 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 07300 · Altoona Fire Department, PA 67 personnel · 5 stations

PERS-MID · STA-FEW · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-MID 67
  • STA-FEW 5 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #2,073
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Northport Fire Re…
  • FEMA-MID $2.8M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Northport Fire Rescue, AL (+ 0 personnel)

Career/paid 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 PA department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Altoona, PA
FDID
07300

FEMA Grant History

$2.8M
Cumulative funding (FY2013–2019)
4
Awards
Year Award Amount
2019 EMW-2019-FG-00459 $1,750,904
2016 EMW2015FO00642 $289,864
2015 EMW2014FV01326 $366,137
2013 EMW2012FH00518 $344,866

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

Staffing vs the Pennsylvania average

How Altoona Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Pennsylvania. In-state it ranks #177 of 1,275 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #2,073 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 91% above the state average
Stations
5
State fire deaths/yr
115
PA departments
2,427

County roster fringe

Altoona Fire Department is 8.1% of Blair County roster mass

The county lists 26 departments totaling 829 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 88% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

7.46 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (5 stations / 67 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Northport Fire Rescue, AL (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Allegheny Township Fire Department
Duncansville · volunteer
Bald Eagle Volunteer Fire Company
Tyrone · volunteer
Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company
East Freedom · volunteer
All PA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 67 personnel

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

Northport Fire Rescue, AL 67 Zionsville Fire Department, IN 67 Lee County Fire Department, GA 67 South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, CA 67 Palm Harbor Fire and Rescue, FL 67 Great Falls Fire Rescue, MT 67 City of Weslaco Fire Department - Emergency Medical Services, TX 67 Coppell Fire Department, TX 67

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Altoona Fire Department have?

Altoona Fire Department has 67 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 91% above the Pennsylvania average of 35 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #2,073 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within PA, it ranks #177 of 1,275 by personnel.

Does Altoona Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Altoona Fire Department operate?

Altoona Fire Department operates 5 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Altoona Fire Department?

Altoona Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Blair County, PA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Altoona Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Altoona Fire Department has received 4 FEMA grants totaling $2,751,771 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2013–2019 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2019.

How many fire departments are in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has 2,427 fire departments with 85,879 total personnel. 67% 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.