Department profile
Career (Paid)Atwater Fire Department
Atwater, CA · Merced County. Atwater Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 1 station and 43 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.
- 43
- Total personnel
- 1
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- No
- EMS service
The verdict
Atwater Fire Department pairs top-quartile national personnel with a headcount above the California average.
- Top 23%
- national personnel size
- +16%
- vs. California average
- 1
- station
- $430,077
- 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.
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.
Atwater Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Atwater, CA (Merced County), with 1 station and 43 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #5,232 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $430,077.
- National personnel rank #5,232 of 22,440
- CA personnel rank #246 of 721
- 2.33 stations per 100 personnel
- 6 other listed departments in Merced County
Atwater Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
43 Top 23% higher than 77% 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 24005 · Atwater Fire Department, CA 43 personnel · 1 station
PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-N · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-SMALL 43
- STA-1 1 station
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-N No EMS flag
- RANK-UPPER #5,232
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Denison
- FEMA-LIGHT $430K
- BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Denison Fire Department, IA (+ 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 CA department.
- Atwater (this dept) 43
- High Harrisville Volun…, NY 43
- Near Denison, IA 43
- Near Long Beach, MS 43
- Near Henlawson Volunte…, WV 43
Department Profile
- Type
- MOSTLY PAID
- Location
- Atwater, CA
- County
- Merced County
- FDID
- 24005
FEMA Grant History
| Year | Award | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | EMW2016FH00568 | $0 |
| 2011 | EMW-2011-FO-0640 | $189,562 |
| 2009 | EMW-2009-FO-1181 | $240,515 |
Source: USAspending.gov (CFDA 97.044 AFG / 97.083 SAFER)
Staffing vs the California average
How Atwater Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #246 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #5,232 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 1
- State fire deaths/yr
- 346
- CA departments
- 1,309
County staffing outlier
Career (Paid) island in a volunteer-heavy Merced County
County mix is mostly volunteer (4 volunteer / 2 career / 0 combination), while this page is typed career. County / state rollup.
2.33 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 43 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Denison Fire Department, IA (+0 personnel).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 43 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every CA department.