Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Heron Rural Fire District

Heron, MT · Sanders County. Heron Rural Fire District is a Volunteer department, 2 stations and 23 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.

23
Total personnel
2
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Heron Rural Fire District pairs modest national personnel with a headcount well above the Montana average.

33rd pct.
national personnel size
+53%
vs. Montana average
2
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.

F
PlainFireData Composite Score
10/100
Heron Rural Fire District

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 F
11.5 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
23 personnel · 2 stations

Heron Rural Fire District is a Volunteer department serving Heron, MT (Sanders County), with 2 stations and 23 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #15,107 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #15,107 of 22,440
  • MT personnel rank #119 of 227
  • 8.70 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 9 other listed departments in Sanders County

Heron Rural Fire District vs. the national personnel distribution

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

23 Top 67% higher than 33% 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 35033 · Heron Rural Fire District, MT 23 personnel · 2 stations

PERS-SMALL · STA-FEW · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 23
  • STA-FEW 2 stations
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-LOWER #15,107
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ North Side Fire C…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: North Side Fire Company Incorporated, NY (+ 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
Heron, MT
FDID
35033

Staffing vs the Montana average

How Heron Rural Fire District's personnel count compares to the typical department in Montana. In-state it ranks #119 of 227 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #15,107 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 53% above the state average
Stations
2
State fire deaths/yr
19
MT departments
416

County roster geometry

Sanders County HIFLD mix around Heron Rural Fire District

Sanders County: 11 departments, 112 personnel (6 volunteer / 0 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 36% of departments. County / state rollup.

8.70 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 23 roster).

Photo-finish peer: North Side Fire Company Incorporated, NY (+0 personnel).

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

Nearby Departments

Dixon Rural Fire Department
Dixon · volunteer
Noxon Rural Fire District
Noxon · volunteer
Plains Volunteer Fire Department
Plains · volunteer
Thompson Falls Rural Fire Department
Thompson Falls · volunteer
All MT departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 23 personnel

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

North Side Fire Company Incorporated, NY 23 Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department, SD 23 Flemingsburg Volunteer Fire Department, KY 23 Sunnyside Rural Fire District, ID 23 Wolford Fire Protection District, ND 23 Sunburg Fire Department, MN 23 Summersville Volunteer Fire Department, WV 23 Sequoyah Volunteer Fire Department, TN 23

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Heron Rural Fire District have?

Heron Rural Fire District has 23 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 53% above the Montana average of 15 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #15,107 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MT, it ranks #119 of 227 by personnel.

Does Heron Rural Fire District provide EMS services?

Yes, Heron Rural Fire District provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in addition to fire response.

How many fire stations does Heron Rural Fire District operate?

Heron Rural Fire District operates 2 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Heron Rural Fire District?

Heron Rural Fire District is a Volunteer department serving Sanders County, MT. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

How many fire departments are in Montana?

Montana has 416 fire departments with 6,294 total personnel. 54% 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.