Department profile
Career (Paid)EMS ProviderCalifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit
El Cajon, CA · San Diego County. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit is a Career (Paid) department, 25 stations and 312 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.
- 312
- Total personnel
- 25
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- Yes
- EMS service
The verdict
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the California average.
- Top 1%
- national personnel size
- +743%
- vs. California average
- 25
- stations
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.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit is a Career (Paid) department serving El Cajon, CA (San Diego County), with 25 stations and 312 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #107 of 22,440.
- National personnel rank #107 of 22,440
- CA personnel rank #17 of 721
- 8.01 stations per 100 personnel
- EMS provider (HIFLD)
- 63 other listed departments in San Diego County
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
312 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 37555 · California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit, CA 312 personnel · 25 stations
PERS-LARGE · STA-SYSTEM · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-LARGE 312
- STA-SYSTEM 25 stations
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-Y EMS on file
- RANK-TOP #107
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ City of Alexandria
- FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
- BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: City of Alexandria Fire Department, VA (+ 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.
- California Depart… (this dept) 312
- High Winston Salem Fir…, NC 312
- Near City of Alexandria, VA 312
- Near Port Chester, NY 312
- Low Des Moines Fire a…, IA 310
Department Profile
- Type
- MOSTLY PAID
- Location
- El Cajon, CA
- County
- San Diego County
- FDID
- 37555
Staffing vs the California average
How California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #17 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #107 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 25
- State fire deaths/yr
- 346
- CA departments
- 1,309
County roster fringe
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit is 8.4% of San Diego County roster mass
The county lists 83 departments totaling 3,721 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 87% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.
8.01 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (25 stations / 312 roster).
Photo-finish peer: City of Alexandria Fire Department, VA (+0 personnel).
No FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on this FDID in USAspending (empty federal book).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 312 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every CA department.