Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Chester Volunteer Fire Department

Chester, MT · Liberty County. Chester Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 28 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.

28
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Chester Volunteer Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount well above the Montana average.

49th pct.
national personnel size
+87%
vs. Montana average
1
station

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
62/100
Chester Volunteer 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 B
28 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
28 personnel · 1 station

Chester Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Chester, MT (Liberty County), with 1 station and 28 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #11,384 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #11,384 of 22,440
  • MT personnel rank #65 of 227
  • 3.57 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 1 other listed department in Liberty County

Chester Volunteer Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

28 Top 51% higher than 49% 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 48001 · Chester Volunteer Fire Department, MT 28 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 28
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-MID #11,384
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Amory Fire and Re…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Amory Fire and Rescue Department, MS (+ 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 MT department.

Department Profile

Type
VOLUNTEER
Location
Chester, MT
FDID
48001

Staffing vs the Montana average

How Chester Volunteer Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Montana. In-state it ranks #65 of 227 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #11,384 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 87% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
19
MT departments
416

County roster weight

Chester Volunteer Fire Department carries 52.8% of Liberty County HIFLD personnel

Among 2 listed departments (53 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 100% of the county count. County / state rollup.

3.57 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 28 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Amory Fire and Rescue Department, MS (+0 personnel).

No FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on this FDID in USAspending (empty federal book).

Nearby Departments

Joplin Fire Department
Joplin · volunteer
All MT departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 28 personnel

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

Amory Fire and Rescue Department, MS 28 Veblen Fire and Rescue, SD 28 Rio Vista Fire Department / Delta Fire Protection District, CA 28 Jerusalem Township Fire Department, OH 28 Loyall Fire Department, KY 28 Valley Creek Fire Department, KY 28 Scott Valley Fire Protection District - Greenview, CA 28 City of Dunsmuir Fire Department, CA 28

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Chester Volunteer Fire Department have?

Chester Volunteer Fire Department has 28 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 87% above the Montana average of 15 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #11,384 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MT, it ranks #65 of 227 by personnel.

Does Chester Volunteer Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Chester Volunteer Fire Department operate?

Chester Volunteer Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Chester Volunteer Fire Department?

Chester Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Liberty County, MT. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

How many fire departments are in Montana?

Montana has 416 fire departments with 6,294 total personnel. 54% 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.