Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department

Des Moines, IA · Polk County. Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department is a Career (Paid) department, 10 stations and 310 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.

310
Total personnel
10
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the Iowa average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+1450%
vs. Iowa average
10
stations
$4,376,296
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
70/100
Des Moines Fire and Rescue 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
31 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
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
310 personnel · 10 stations

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Des Moines, IA (Polk County), with 10 stations and 310 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #111 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $4,376,296.

  • National personnel rank #111 of 22,440
  • IA personnel rank #1 of 589
  • 3.23 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 21 other listed departments in Polk County

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

310 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 77008 · Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department, IA 310 personnel · 10 stations

PERS-LARGE · STA-MULTI · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-LARGE 310
  • STA-MULTI 10 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #111
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Port Chester
  • FEMA-MID $4.4M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Port Chester Fire Department, NY (+ 2 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 IA department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Des Moines, IA
FDID
77008

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2016–2023)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2023 EMW-2023-FG-06991 $507,375.45
2017 EMW2015FH00352 $2,478,662
2017 EMW2016FO05628 $230,364
2016 EMW2015FO06767 $1,159,895

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

Staffing vs the Iowa average

How Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Iowa. In-state it ranks #1 of 589 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #111 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 1450% above the state average
Stations
10
State fire deaths/yr
39
IA departments
810

County roster weight

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department carries 31.5% of Polk County HIFLD personnel

Among 23 listed departments (985 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 61% of the county count. County / state rollup.

3.23 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (10 stations / 310 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Port Chester Fire Department, NY (+2 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Altoona City Fire Department
Altoona · volunteer
Bondurant Emergency Services
Bondurant · volunteer
Camp Dodge Fire Department
Johnston · other
Clive Fire Department
Clive · volunteer
Delaware Township Fire Department
Des Moines · other
All IA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 310 personnel

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

Port Chester Fire Department, NY 312 City of Alexandria Fire Department, VA 312 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - San Diego Unit, CA 312 Upper Darby Township Fire Department - Upper Darby Fire Company, PA 308 Winston Salem Fire Department - Bullard Fire, NC 312 Roanoke Fire and Rescue Department, VA 305 City of Madison Fire Department, WI 318 Fayetteville Fire Department, NC 302

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department have?

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department has 310 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 1450% above the Iowa average of 20 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #111 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within IA, it ranks #1 of 589 by personnel.

Does Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department provide EMS services?

Yes, Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in addition to fire response.

How many fire stations does Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department operate?

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department operates 10 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department?

Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Polk County, IA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department received federal grants?

Yes, Des Moines Fire and Rescue Department has received 4 FEMA grants totaling $4,376,296.45 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2016–2023 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2023.

How many fire departments are in Iowa?

Iowa has 810 fire departments with 16,337 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.