Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Ayer Fire Department

Ayer, MA · Middlesex County. Ayer Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 45 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.

45
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Ayer Fire Department pairs top-quartile national personnel with a headcount above the Massachusetts average.

Top 21%
national personnel size
+29%
vs. Massachusetts average
1
station
$1,171,691
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
Ayer 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
45 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness C
2 vehicles per station (national median 2)
EMS integration
No EMS staffing breakdown on file
Federal investment B
$26,038 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
45 personnel · 1 station

Ayer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Ayer, MA (Middlesex County), with 1 station and 45 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #4,717 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $1,171,691.

  • National personnel rank #4,717 of 22,440
  • MA personnel rank #133 of 326
  • 2.22 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 65 other listed departments in Middlesex County

Ayer Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

45 Top 21% higher than 79% 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 17019 · Ayer Fire Department, MA 45 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 45
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #4,717
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Mason City
  • FEMA-MID $1.2M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Mason City Fire Department, IA (+ 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 MA department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Ayer, MA
FDID
17019

FEMA Grant History

$1.2M
Cumulative funding (FY2013–2020)
2
Awards
Year Award Amount
2020 EMW-2020-FF-00384 $992,680
2013 EMW2012FO00385 $179,011

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

Staffing vs the Massachusetts average

How Ayer Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Massachusetts. In-state it ranks #133 of 326 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #4,717 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 29% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
51
MA departments
568

County roster fringe

Ayer Fire Department is 1.2% of Middlesex County roster mass

The county lists 95 departments totaling 3,724 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 99% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

2.22 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 45 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Mason City Fire Department, IA (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Acton Fire Department
Acton · career
Arlington Fire Department
Arlington · career
Ashby Fire Department
Ashby · volunteer
Ashland Fire Department
Ashland · career
Bedford Fire Department
Bedford · career
Belmont Fire Department
Belmont · career
All MA departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 45 personnel

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

Mason City Fire Department, IA 45 Deepwater Fire Company, NJ 45 Princeton Fire Department, KY 45 McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Department, VA 45 Singers Glen Volunteer Fire Company, VA 45 Salem Township Fire Department, IN 45 Chagrin Falls Fire Department, OH 45 Larimore Volunteer Fire Department, ND 45

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Ayer Fire Department have?

Ayer Fire Department has 45 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 29% above the Massachusetts average of 35 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #4,717 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MA, it ranks #133 of 326 by personnel.

Does Ayer Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Ayer Fire Department operate?

Ayer Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Ayer Fire Department?

Ayer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Middlesex County, MA. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Ayer Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Ayer Fire Department has received 2 FEMA grants totaling $1,171,691 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2013–2020 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2020.

How many fire departments are in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has 568 fire departments with 19,841 total personnel. 35% 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.