Department profile
Career (Paid)EMS ProviderEl Centro Fire Department
El Centro, CA · Imperial County. El Centro Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 2 stations and 36 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.
- 36
- Total personnel
- 2
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- Yes
- EMS service
The verdict
El Centro Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount in line with the California average.
- Top 32%
- national personnel size
- -3%
- vs. California average
- 2
- stations
- $210,554
- 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.
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.
El Centro Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving El Centro, CA (Imperial County), with 2 stations and 36 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #7,283 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $210,554.
- National personnel rank #7,283 of 22,440
- CA personnel rank #300 of 721
- 5.56 stations per 100 personnel
- EMS provider (HIFLD)
- 13 other listed departments in Imperial County
El Centro Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
36 Top 32% higher than 68% 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 13020 · El Centro Fire Department, CA 36 personnel · 2 stations
PERS-SMALL · STA-FEW · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-SMALL 36
- STA-FEW 2 stations
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-Y EMS on file
- RANK-UPPER #7,283
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Cape Charles Volu…
- FEMA-LIGHT $211K
- BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Company Incorporated, VA (+ 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 CA department.
- El Centro (this dept) 36
- High Ludlow, MA 36
- Near Cape Charles Volu…, VA 36
- Near Northampton Fire…, VA 36
- Near Washington Townsh…, OH 36
Department Profile
- Type
- PAID
- Location
- El Centro, CA
- County
- Imperial County
- FDID
- 13020
FEMA Grant History
| Year | Award | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | EMW2013FO06309 | $210,554 |
Source: USAspending.gov (CFDA 97.044 AFG / 97.083 SAFER)
Staffing vs the California average
How El Centro Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #300 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #7,283 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 2
- State fire deaths/yr
- 346
- CA departments
- 1,309
County staffing outlier
Career (Paid) island in a volunteer-heavy Imperial County
County mix is mostly volunteer (7 volunteer / 6 career / 0 combination), while this page is typed career. County / state rollup.
5.56 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 36 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Company Incorporated, VA (+0 personnel).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 36 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every CA department.