Department profile
Career (Paid)Kern County Fire Department
Bakersfield, CA · Kern County. Kern County Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 45 stations and 625 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.
- 625
- Total personnel
- 45
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- Not reported
- EMS service
The verdict
Kern County Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the California average.
- Top 1%
- national personnel size
- +1589%
- vs. California average
- 45
- stations
- $15,359,666
- 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.
Kern County Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Bakersfield, CA (Kern County), with 45 stations and 625 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #44 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $15,359,666.
- National personnel rank #44 of 22,440
- CA personnel rank #7 of 721
- 7.20 stations per 100 personnel
- 8 other listed departments in Kern County
Kern County Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
625 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 15010 · Kern County Fire Department, CA 625 personnel · 45 stations
PERS-LARGE · STA-SYSTEM · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-HEAVY · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-LARGE 625
- STA-SYSTEM 45 stations
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-UNK EMS pending
- RANK-TOP #44
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Tampa Fire and Re…
- FEMA-HEAVY $15.4M
- BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Tampa Fire and Rescue, FL (+ 3 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.
- High Omaha Fire and Re…, NE 655
- Near City of las Vegas…, NV 648
- Near Hanover County Fi…, VA 631
- Near Tampa Fire and Re…, FL 628
- Kern County (this dept) 625
Department Profile
- Type
- MOSTLY CAREER
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA
- County
- Kern County
- FDID
- 15010
FEMA Grant History
| Year | Award | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | EMW-2021-FG-03297 | $397,272.72 |
| 2019 | EMW-2019-FG-03277 | $2,647,273 |
| 2018 | EMW-2018-FO-02548 | $327,725.5 |
| 2017 | EMW2015FH00437 | $3,987,205 |
| 2016 | EMW2015FO02401 | $759,319 |
| 2014 | EMW2013FO02190 | $212,171 |
| 2011 | EMW-2011-FH-0051 | $7,028,700 |
Source: USAspending.gov (CFDA 97.044 AFG / 97.083 SAFER)
Staffing vs the California average
How Kern County Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #7 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #44 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 45
- State fire deaths/yr
- 346
- CA departments
- 1,309
County roster weight
Kern County Fire Department carries 59.5% of Kern County HIFLD personnel
Among 14 listed departments (1,050 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 14% of the county count. County / state rollup.
7.20 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (45 stations / 625 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Tampa Fire and Rescue, FL (+3 personnel).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 625 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every CA department.