Department profile

Volunteer

Columbus Volunteer Fire Department

Columbus, MT · Stillwater County. Columbus Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 25 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

25
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

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

41st pct.
national personnel size
+67%
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.

C
PlainFireData Composite Score
54/100
Columbus 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 C
25 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
25 personnel · 1 station

Columbus Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Columbus, MT (Stillwater County), with 1 station and 25 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #13,221 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #13,221 of 22,440
  • MT personnel rank #98 of 227
  • 4.00 stations per 100 personnel
  • 7 other listed departments in Stillwater County

Columbus Volunteer Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

25 Top 59% higher than 41% 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 32001 · Columbus Volunteer Fire Department, MT 25 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 25
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-MID #13,221
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Denham Springs
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Denham Springs Fire Department, LA (+ 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
Columbus, MT
FDID
32001

Staffing vs the Montana average

How Columbus Volunteer Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Montana. In-state it ranks #98 of 227 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #13,221 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 67% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
19
MT departments
416

County roster weight

Columbus Volunteer Fire Department carries 29.8% of Stillwater County HIFLD personnel

Among 8 listed departments (84 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 50% of the county count. County / state rollup.

4.00 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 25 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Denham Springs Fire Department, LA (+0 personnel).

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

Nationwide volunteer peers near 25 personnel

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