CHOWCHILLA FIRE DEPARTMENT

What This Data Tells You About CHOWCHILLA FIRE DEPARTMENT

CHOWCHILLA FIRE DEPARTMENT operates as a Volunteer department in Chowchilla, within Madera County, and the HIFLD and USFA records give a precise structural picture of its response capacity. The department reports 20 total personnel, 1 station, no truck inventory reported. EMS capability is listed as unspecified, which directly affects how medical calls in the service area are routed and how quickly an advanced life support unit can reach a patient. Department type matters because career, volunteer, and combination organizations carry very different response-time profiles and funding sources.

Benchmarking against the state gives this profile context. California has 1,309 registered fire departments and 48,526 total personnel, averaging roughly 37 staff per department. CHOWCHILLA FIRE DEPARTMENT runs 46% below that state average, signalling a leaner crew typical of smaller jurisdictions or heavily volunteer-staffed areas. The state records about 168,000 fires, 346 fire deaths, and 40% volunteer coverage each year, which shapes training, funding priorities, and mutual-aid patterns felt at every department in the state.

Federal investment further defines this department's trajectory: CHOWCHILLA FIRE DEPARTMENT has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $0 through the AFG and SAFER programs, money typically spent on PPE, SCBA, training, and hiring or retaining career staff. Residents, insurers, and mutual-aid partners use these data points to judge whether coverage is adequate for the built environment, whether ISO ratings are defensible, and where future capital investment should flow. All figures on this page come from the Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data (HIFLD) public dataset, USFA published statistics, and USAspending.gov, and are presented without editing so the underlying federal record remains transparent and verifiable.