Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Chelsea Area Fire Authority

Chelsea, MI · Washtenaw County. Chelsea Area Fire Authority is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 32 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.

32
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Chelsea Area Fire Authority pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount above the Michigan average.

Top 40%
national personnel size
+45%
vs. Michigan average
1
station
$713,300
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
71/100
Chelsea Area Fire Authority

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 B
32 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 B
$22,291 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
32 personnel · 1 station

Chelsea Area Fire Authority is a Volunteer department serving Chelsea, MI (Washtenaw County), with 1 station and 32 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #8,997 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $713,300.

  • National personnel rank #8,997 of 22,440
  • MI personnel rank #202 of 1,008
  • 3.13 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 14 other listed departments in Washtenaw County

Chelsea Area Fire Authority vs. the national personnel distribution

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

32 Top 40% higher than 60% 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 08104 · Chelsea Area Fire Authority, MI 32 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 32
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-MID #8,997
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lizemores Volunte…
  • FEMA-MID $713K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Lizemores Volunteer Fire Department, WV (+ 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 MI department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Chelsea, MI
FDID
08104

FEMA Grant History

$713K
Cumulative funding (FY2009–2018)
2
Awards
Year Award Amount
2018 EMW-2018-FR-00484 $167,636
2009 EMW-2009-FH-0068 $545,664

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

Staffing vs the Michigan average

How Chelsea Area Fire Authority's personnel count compares to the typical department in Michigan. In-state it ranks #202 of 1,008 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #8,997 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 45% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
112
MI departments
1,274

County roster fringe

Chelsea Area Fire Authority is 6.8% of Washtenaw County roster mass

The county lists 21 departments totaling 468 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 100% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

3.13 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 32 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Lizemores Volunteer Fire Department, WV (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Ann Arbor Township Fire Department
Ann Arbor · volunteer
Augusta Township Fire Department
Whittaker · volunteer
City of Ann Arbor Fire Department
Ann Arbor · career
Dexter Area Fire Department
Dexter · volunteer
Manchester Township Fire Department
Manchester · volunteer
Northfield Township Fire Department
Whitmore Lake · volunteer
All MI departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 32 personnel

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

Lizemores Volunteer Fire Department, WV 32 Mashantucket Tribal Fire Department, CT 32 Leaksville Volunteer Fire Department, NC 32 Draper Volunteer Fire Department, NC 32 Clover Volunteer Fire Department, VA 32 Halifax Volunteer Fire Department, VA 32 Lewis-Arriola Fire Protection District, CO 32 Northwoods Fire Department, NC 32

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Chelsea Area Fire Authority have?

Chelsea Area Fire Authority has 32 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 45% above the Michigan average of 22 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #8,997 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MI, it ranks #202 of 1,008 by personnel.

Does Chelsea Area Fire Authority provide EMS services?

Yes, Chelsea Area Fire Authority provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in addition to fire response.

How many fire stations does Chelsea Area Fire Authority operate?

Chelsea Area Fire Authority operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Chelsea Area Fire Authority?

Chelsea Area Fire Authority is a Volunteer department serving Washtenaw County, MI. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Chelsea Area Fire Authority received federal grants?

Yes, Chelsea Area Fire Authority has received 2 FEMA grants totaling $713,300 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2009–2018 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2018.

How many fire departments are in Michigan?

Michigan has 1,274 fire departments with 28,594 total personnel. 61% 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.