Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Chesapeake Fire Department

Chesapeake, VA · Chesapeake City County. Chesapeake Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 15 stations and 378 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.

378
Total personnel
15
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

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

Top 1%
national personnel size
+1045%
vs. Virginia average
15
stations
$7,909,411
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
60/100
Chesapeake 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 C
25.2 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
$20,924 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
378 personnel · 15 stations

Chesapeake Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Chesapeake, VA (Chesapeake City County), with 15 stations and 378 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #81 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $7,909,411.

  • National personnel rank #81 of 22,440
  • VA personnel rank #7 of 414
  • 3.97 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 0 other listed departments in Chesapeake City County

Chesapeake Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

378 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 55000 · Chesapeake Fire Department, VA 378 personnel · 15 stations

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

  • PERS-LARGE 378
  • STA-MULTI 15 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #81
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Frisco
  • FEMA-HEAVY $7.9M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Frisco Fire Department, TX (+ 4 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 VA department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Chesapeake, VA
FDID
55000

FEMA Grant History

$7.9M
Cumulative funding (FY2010–2023)
6
Awards
Year Award Amount
2023 EMW-2023-FF-01032 $4,470,313.86
2021 EMW-2021-FG-10045 $417,409.09
2019 EMW-2019-FG-06839 $1,282,691
2018 EMW-2018-FH-00532 $472,021.07
2013 EMW2012FO03662 $414,984
2010 EMW-2010-FO-0501 $851,992

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

Staffing vs the Virginia average

How Chesapeake Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Virginia. In-state it ranks #7 of 414 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #81 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 1045% above the state average
Stations
15
State fire deaths/yr
86
VA departments
766

County roster weight

Chesapeake Fire Department carries 100.0% of Chesapeake City County HIFLD personnel

Among 2 listed departments (378 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 0% of the county count. County / state rollup.

3.97 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (15 stations / 378 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Frisco Fire Department, TX (+4 personnel).

Nationwide career peers near 378 personnel

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

Frisco Fire Department, TX 382 West Metro Fire Protection District, CO 385 Saint Lucie County Fire District, FL 388 Wichita Fire Department, KS 388 Salt Lake City Fire Department, UT 366 Bridgeport Fire Department - Rescue Squad 5, CT 366 Stockton Fire Department, CA 364 Hartford Fire Department - Central Station, CT 364

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Chesapeake Fire Department have?

Chesapeake Fire Department has 378 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 1045% above the Virginia average of 33 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #81 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within VA, it ranks #7 of 414 by personnel.

Does Chesapeake Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Chesapeake Fire Department operate?

Chesapeake Fire Department operates 15 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Chesapeake Fire Department?

Chesapeake Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Chesapeake City County, VA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Chesapeake Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Chesapeake Fire Department has received 6 FEMA grants totaling $7,909,411.02 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2010–2023 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2023.

How many fire departments are in Virginia?

Virginia has 766 fire departments with 25,415 total personnel. 67% 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.