Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Modesto Fire Department

Modesto, CA · Stanislaus County. Modesto Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 11 stations and 175 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.

175
Total personnel
11
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Modesto Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the California average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+373%
vs. California average
11
stations
$11,616,772
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.

D
PlainFireData Composite Score
25/100
Modesto 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 D
15.9 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
175 personnel · 11 stations

Modesto Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Modesto, CA (Stanislaus County), with 11 stations and 175 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #304 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $11,616,772.

  • National personnel rank #304 of 22,440
  • CA personnel rank #30 of 721
  • 6.29 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 22 other listed departments in Stanislaus County

Modesto Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

175 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 50040 · Modesto Fire Department, CA 175 personnel · 11 stations

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

  • PERS-MID 175
  • STA-MULTI 11 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #304
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Biloxi
  • FEMA-HEAVY $11.6M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Biloxi Fire Department, MS (+ 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.

Department Profile

Type
PAID
Location
Modesto, CA
FDID
50040

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2017–2023)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2023 EMW-2023-FF-00366 $5,149,721.97
2020 EMW-2020-FF-01443 $4,244,402.16
2017 EMW2015FH00410 $2,222,648

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

Staffing vs the California average

How Modesto Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #30 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #304 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 373% above the state average
Stations
11
State fire deaths/yr
346
CA departments
1,309

County staffing outlier

Career (Paid) island in a volunteer-heavy Stanislaus County

County mix is mostly volunteer (14 volunteer / 5 career / 0 combination), while this page is typed career. County / state rollup.

6.29 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (11 stations / 175 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Biloxi Fire Department, MS (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Ceres Emergency Services
Modesto · other
Ceres Emergency Services
Ceres · career
City of Newman Fire Department
Newman · volunteer
Denair Fire Protection District
Denair · volunteer
Hughson Fire Protection District
Hughson · volunteer
Keyes Fire Protection District
Keyes · volunteer
All CA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 175 personnel

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

Biloxi Fire Department, MS 175 Wyalusing Valley Volunteer Fire Department, PA 175 Dothan Fire Department, AL 175 Athens-Clarke County Fire Department, GA 175 Gulfport Fire Department - Central, MS 174 Waltham Fire Department, MA 176 Kent Fire Department, WA 176 Canton Fire Department, OH 173

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Modesto Fire Department have?

Modesto Fire Department has 175 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 373% above the California average of 37 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #304 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within CA, it ranks #30 of 721 by personnel.

Does Modesto Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Modesto Fire Department operate?

Modesto Fire Department operates 11 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Modesto Fire Department?

Modesto Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Stanislaus County, CA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Modesto Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Modesto Fire Department has received 3 FEMA grants totaling $11,616,772.13 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2017–2023 (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 California?

California has 1,309 fire departments with 48,526 total personnel. 40% 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.