Department profile

CombinationEMS Provider

Chilhowie Fire Department

Chilhowie, VA · Smyth County. Chilhowie Fire Department is a Combination department, 1 station and 21 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.

21
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Chilhowie Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount below the Virginia average.

28th pct.
national personnel size
-36%
vs. Virginia 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.

C
PlainFireData Composite Score
42/100
Chilhowie 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
21 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
21 personnel · 1 station

Chilhowie Fire Department is a Combination department serving Chilhowie, VA (Smyth County), with 1 station and 21 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #16,173 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #16,173 of 22,440
  • VA personnel rank #378 of 414
  • 4.76 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 8 other listed departments in Smyth County

Chilhowie Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

21 Top 72% higher than 28% 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 17303 · Chilhowie Fire Department, VA 21 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 21
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-COMB Combination
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-LOWER #16,173
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Shirley
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Shirley Fire Department, MA (+ 0 personnel)

Combination-staffed 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
COMBINATION
Location
Chilhowie, VA
FDID
17303

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2012)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2012 EMW2011FF00361 $-4,302

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

Staffing vs the Virginia average

How Chilhowie Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Virginia. In-state it ranks #378 of 414 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #16,173 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 36% below the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
86
VA departments
766

County staffing outlier

Combination island in a volunteer-heavy Smyth County

County mix is mostly volunteer (6 volunteer / 0 career / 1 combination), while this page is typed combination. County / state rollup.

4.76 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 21 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Shirley Fire Department, MA (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Atkins Volunteer Fire Department
Atkins · volunteer
Marion Volunteer Fire Department
Marion · volunteer
Nebo Volunteer Fire Department
Saltville · volunteer
Saltville Volunteer Fire Department
Saltville · volunteer
Sugar Grove Volunteer Fire Department
Sugar Grove · volunteer
All VA departments →

Nationwide combination-staffed peers near 21 personnel

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

Shirley Fire Department, MA 21 Floyd Dale Fire and Rescue, SC 21 Shinnston Volunteer Fire Department, WV 21 Roosevelt County Fire Department, MT 21 Wynne Fire Station, AR 21 Rocky Ford Police and Fire Department, CO 21 Lowell Fire, AR 21 Kiowa Fire Protection District, CO 21

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Chilhowie Fire Department have?

Chilhowie Fire Department has 21 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 36% below the Virginia average of 33 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #16,173 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within VA, it ranks #378 of 414 by personnel.

Does Chilhowie Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Chilhowie Fire Department operate?

Chilhowie Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Chilhowie Fire Department?

Chilhowie Fire Department is a Combination department serving Smyth County, VA. Combination departments use both paid career and volunteer firefighters.

Has Chilhowie Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Chilhowie Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $-4,302 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2012 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2012.

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.