Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Bakersfield Fire Department

Bakersfield, CA · Kern County. Bakersfield Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 13 stations and 202 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.

202
Total personnel
13
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Bakersfield Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the California average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+446%
vs. California average
13
stations
$170,897
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.

D
PlainFireData Composite Score
23/100
Bakersfield 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 D
15.5 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
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
202 personnel · 13 stations

Bakersfield Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Bakersfield, CA (Kern County), with 13 stations and 202 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #221 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $170,897.

  • National personnel rank #221 of 22,440
  • CA personnel rank #26 of 721
  • 6.44 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 8 other listed departments in Kern County

Bakersfield Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

202 Top 1% higher than 99% 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 15005 · Bakersfield Fire Department, CA 202 personnel · 13 stations

PERS-LARGE · STA-MULTI · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-LARGE 202
  • STA-MULTI 13 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #221
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Charleston
  • FEMA-LIGHT $171K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Charleston Fire Department, WV (+ 1 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.

Department Profile

Type
PAID
Location
Bakersfield, CA
FDID
15005

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2010)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2010 EMW-2010-FO-0537 $170,897

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

Staffing vs the California average

How Bakersfield Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #26 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #221 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 446% above the state average
Stations
13
State fire deaths/yr
346
CA departments
1,309

County roster geometry

Kern County HIFLD mix around Bakersfield Fire Department

Kern County: 14 departments, 1,050 personnel (2 volunteer / 7 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 79% of departments. County / state rollup.

6.44 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (13 stations / 202 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Charleston Fire Department, WV (+1 personnel).

Nearby Departments

California City Fire Department
California City · career
Kern County Fire Department
Bakersfield · career
Sand Canyon Volunteer Fire Department
Tehachapi · volunteer
All CA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 202 personnel

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

Charleston Fire Department, WV 203 John Hanna Ketcham Hose Company, NY 204 New Kingstown Fire Company, PA 200 Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department, KY 200 Quincy Fire Department, MA 205 Eugene Fire, OR 205 Green Bay Fire Department, WI 198 Grand Prairie Fire Department, TX 198

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Bakersfield Fire Department have?

Bakersfield Fire Department has 202 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 446% above the California average of 37 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #221 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within CA, it ranks #26 of 721 by personnel.

Does Bakersfield Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Bakersfield Fire Department operate?

Bakersfield Fire Department operates 13 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Bakersfield Fire Department?

Bakersfield Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Kern County, CA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Bakersfield Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Bakersfield Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $170,897 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2010 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2010.

How many fire departments are in California?

California has 1,309 fire departments with 48,526 total personnel. 40% 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.