Department profile

Volunteer

Chowchilla Fire Department

Chowchilla, CA · Madera County. Chowchilla Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 20 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

20
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Not reported
EMS service

The verdict

Chowchilla Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount below the California average.

25th pct.
national personnel size
-46%
vs. California 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.

D
PlainFireData Composite Score
38/100
Chowchilla 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 D
20 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness
No vehicle count on file for this department
EMS integration
Not an EMS-capable department (USFA registry)
Federal investment
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
20 personnel · 1 station

Chowchilla Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Chowchilla, CA (Madera County), with 1 station and 20 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #16,841 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #16,841 of 22,440
  • CA personnel rank #526 of 721
  • 5.00 stations per 100 personnel
  • 3 other listed departments in Madera County

Chowchilla Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

20 Top 75% higher than 25% 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 20005 · Chowchilla Fire Department, CA 20 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-UNK · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-PART

  • PERS-SMALL 20
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-UNK EMS pending
  • RANK-LOWER #16,841
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ H D Lane Voluntee…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-PART 3/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: H D Lane Volunteer Fire Company, NY (+ 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 CA department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Chowchilla, CA
FDID
20005

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2019)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2019 EMW-2019-FF-01507 $0

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

Staffing vs the California average

How Chowchilla Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #526 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #16,841 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 46% below the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
346
CA departments
1,309

County roster fringe

Chowchilla Fire Department is 7.2% of Madera County roster mass

The county lists 5 departments totaling 278 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 60% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

5.00 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 20 roster).

Photo-finish peer: H D Lane Volunteer Fire Company, NY (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Madera City Fire Department
Madera · other
Madera County Fire Department
Oakhurst · other
Madera County Fire Department
Madera · volunteer
All CA departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 20 personnel

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

H D Lane Volunteer Fire Company, NY 20 Fordyce Fire Department, AR 20 Union Volunteer Fire and Rescue, NE 20 Claremont Fire Department, MN 20 Dodge Center Fire Department, MN 20 West Concord Fire Department, MN 20 Hannaford Rural Fire Department, ND 20 Greenbrier-Bethel Volunteer Fire Department, SC 20

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Chowchilla Fire Department have?

Chowchilla Fire Department has 20 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 46% below the California average of 37 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #16,841 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within CA, it ranks #526 of 721 by personnel.

Does Chowchilla Fire Department provide EMS services?

EMS capability is not specified for Chowchilla Fire Department in the HIFLD database.

How many fire stations does Chowchilla Fire Department operate?

Chowchilla Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Chowchilla Fire Department?

Chowchilla Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Madera County, CA. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Chowchilla Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Chowchilla Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $0 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2019 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2019.

How many fire departments are in California?

California has 1,309 fire departments with 48,526 total personnel. 40% 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.