Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department

Cowen, WV · Webster County. Cowen Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 30 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.

30
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount above the West Virginia average.

Top 45%
national personnel size
+30%
vs. West Virginia average
1
station
$373,333
FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record

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.

B
PlainFireData Composite Score
60/100
Cowen 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 B
30 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 C
$12,444 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
30 personnel · 1 station

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Cowen, WV (Webster County), with 1 station and 30 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #10,034 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $373,333.

  • National personnel rank #10,034 of 22,440
  • WV personnel rank #154 of 359
  • 3.33 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 4 other listed departments in Webster County

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

30 Top 45% higher than 55% 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 51101 · Cowen Volunteer Fire Department, WV 30 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 30
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-MID #10,034
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Kansasville
  • FEMA-LIGHT $373K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Kansasville Fire Department, WI (+ 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 WV department.

Department Profile

Type
VOLUNTEER
Location
Cowen, WV
FDID
51101

FEMA Grant History

$373K
Cumulative funding (FY2022)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2022 EMW-2022-FG-07644 $373,333.33

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

Staffing vs the West Virginia average

How Cowen Volunteer Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in West Virginia. In-state it ranks #154 of 359 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #10,034 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 30% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
55
WV departments
511

County roster geometry

Webster County HIFLD mix around Cowen Volunteer Fire Department

Webster County: 5 departments, 126 personnel (4 volunteer / 0 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 80% of departments. County / state rollup.

3.33 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 30 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Kansasville Fire Department, WI (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Erbacon Volunteer Fire Department
Erbacon · volunteer
Hacker Valley Volunteer Fire Department
Hacker Valley · volunteer
Webster Springs Volunteer Fire Department
Webster Springs · volunteer
All WV departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 30 personnel

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

Kansasville Fire Department, WI 30 Slayton Fire Department, MN 30 Hohenwald Fire Department, TN 30 Centerville Volunteer Fire Department, LA 30 Berwick Volunteer Fire Department - Vj Bella Central Station, LA 30 Hillsboro Volunteer Fire, NM 30 Scioto Valley Fire District, OH 30 Greenfield Volunteer Fire Department, NH 30

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Cowen Volunteer Fire Department have?

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department has 30 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 30% above the West Virginia average of 23 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #10,034 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within WV, it ranks #154 of 359 by personnel.

Does Cowen Volunteer Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Cowen Volunteer Fire Department operate?

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Cowen Volunteer Fire Department?

Cowen Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Webster County, WV. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Cowen Volunteer Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Cowen Volunteer Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $373,333.33 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2022 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2022.

How many fire departments are in West Virginia?

West Virginia has 511 fire departments with 11,756 total personnel. 70% 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.