Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Institute Volunteer Fire Department

Institute, WV · Kanawha County. Institute Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 34 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.

34
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

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

Top 37%
national personnel size
+48%
vs. West Virginia average
1
station
$163,760
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.

C
PlainFireData Composite Score
49/100
Institute 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
34 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 F
$4,816 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
34 personnel · 1 station

Institute Volunteer Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Institute, WV (Kanawha County), with 1 station and 34 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #8,381 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $163,760.

  • National personnel rank #8,381 of 22,440
  • WV personnel rank #113 of 359
  • 2.94 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 31 other listed departments in Kanawha County

Institute Volunteer Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

34 Top 37% higher than 63% 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 20124 · Institute Volunteer Fire Department, WV 34 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 34
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #8,381
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ripon Volunteer
  • FEMA-LIGHT $164K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Ripon Volunteer 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
Institute, WV
FDID
20124

FEMA Grant History

$164K
Cumulative funding (FY2019)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2019 EMW-2019-FF-00968 $163,759.66

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

Staffing vs the West Virginia average

How Institute Volunteer Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in West Virginia. In-state it ranks #113 of 359 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #8,381 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 48% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
55
WV departments
511

County roster fringe

Institute Volunteer Fire Department is 3.6% of Kanawha County roster mass

The county lists 39 departments totaling 957 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 77% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

2.94 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 34 roster).

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

Nearby Departments

Belle Volunteer Fire Department
Belle · volunteer
Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Department
Cedar Grove · volunteer
Charleston Fire Department
Charleston · career
Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department
Clendenin · volunteer
Dunbar Fire Department
Dunbar · career
All WV departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 34 personnel

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

Ripon Volunteer Fire Department, WI 34 Everton Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, IN 34 Empire-Friendship Fire Company, PA 34 Goodson-Kinderhook Fire and Rescue, VA 34 Ferdinand Volunteer Fire Department, IN 34 Bristow Fire Department, OK 34 Boca Grande Fire Department, FL 34 Dunnstown Volunteer Fire Company, PA 34

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Institute Volunteer Fire Department have?

Institute Volunteer Fire Department has 34 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 48% above the West Virginia average of 23 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #8,381 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within WV, it ranks #113 of 359 by personnel.

Does Institute Volunteer Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Institute Volunteer Fire Department operate?

Institute Volunteer Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Institute Volunteer Fire Department?

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

Has Institute Volunteer Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Institute Volunteer Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $163,759.66 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2019 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2019.

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.