Department profile

Career (Paid)

City of Charleston Fire Department

Charleston, SC · Charleston County. City of Charleston Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 14 stations and 212 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

212
Total personnel
14
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

City of Charleston Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the South Carolina average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+748%
vs. South Carolina average
14
stations

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
26/100
City of Charleston 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
15.1 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness D
1.3 vehicles per station (national median 2)
EMS integration
Not an EMS-capable department (USFA registry)
Federal investment
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
212 personnel · 14 stations

City of Charleston Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Charleston, SC (Charleston County), with 14 stations and 212 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #202 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #202 of 22,440
  • SC personnel rank #5 of 473
  • 6.60 stations per 100 personnel
  • 18 other listed departments in Charleston County

City of Charleston Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

212 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 10302 · City of Charleston Fire Department, SC 212 personnel · 14 stations

PERS-LARGE · STA-MULTI · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-N · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-LARGE 212
  • STA-MULTI 14 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-TOP #202
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Edison Division o…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Edison Division of Fire, NJ (+ 0 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 SC department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Charleston, SC
FDID
10302

Staffing vs the South Carolina average

How City of Charleston Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in South Carolina. In-state it ranks #5 of 473 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #202 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 748% above the state average
Stations
14
State fire deaths/yr
75
SC departments
689

County roster geometry

Charleston County HIFLD mix around City of Charleston Fire Department

Charleston County: 24 departments, 1,130 personnel (2 volunteer / 8 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 42% of departments. County / state rollup.

6.60 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (14 stations / 212 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Edison Division of Fire, NJ (+0 personnel).

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

Nearby Departments

Awendaw District Fire Department
Mount Pleasant · other
Awendaw Fire District
Awendaw · career
Awendew District Fire Department
Mc Clellanville · other
Folly Beach Public Service
Folly Beach · volunteer
Isle of Palms Fire Department
Isle Of Palms · career
James Island Fire Department
James Island · other
James Island Public Service District
James Island · other
All SC departments →

Nationwide career peers near 212 personnel

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

Edison Division of Fire, NJ 212 Wilmington Fire Department, NC 212 High Point Fire Department, NC 212 Brockton Fire Department, MA 212 Lynn Fire Department, MA 213 Peoria Fire Department Fire Central, IL 211 Asheville Fire and Rescue, NC 210 Bellevue Fire Department, WA 214

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does City of Charleston Fire Department have?

City of Charleston Fire Department has 212 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 748% above the South Carolina average of 25 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #202 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within SC, it ranks #5 of 473 by personnel.

Does City of Charleston Fire Department provide EMS services?

City of Charleston Fire Department is not listed as providing EMS in the HIFLD record. Contact local emergency services to confirm which agency covers medical calls.

How many fire stations does City of Charleston Fire Department operate?

City of Charleston Fire Department operates 14 fire stations.

What type of fire department is City of Charleston Fire Department?

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

How many fire departments are in South Carolina?

South Carolina has 689 fire departments with 17,475 total personnel. 49% 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.