Department profile
Career (Paid)EMS ProviderNew Bedford Fire Department
New Bedford, MA · Bristol County. New Bedford Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 7 stations and 262 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.
- 262
- Total personnel
- 7
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- Yes
- EMS service
The verdict
New Bedford Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the Massachusetts average.
- Top 1%
- national personnel size
- +649%
- vs. Massachusetts average
- 7
- stations
- $31,940,866
- 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.
New Bedford Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving New Bedford, MA (Bristol County), with 7 stations and 262 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #144 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $31,940,866.
- National personnel rank #144 of 22,440
- MA personnel rank #3 of 326
- 2.67 stations per 100 personnel
- EMS provider (HIFLD)
- 26 other listed departments in Bristol County
New Bedford Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
262 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 05201 · New Bedford Fire Department, MA 262 personnel · 7 stations
PERS-LARGE · STA-MULTI · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-HEAVY · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-LARGE 262
- STA-MULTI 7 stations
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-Y EMS on file
- RANK-TOP #144
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Joppa-Magnolia Vo…
- FEMA-HEAVY $31.9M
- BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, MD ( -2 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 MA department.
- High Santa Barbara Cou…, CA 264
- Near Elizabeth, NJ 264
- New Bedford (this dept) 262
- Near Joppa-Magnolia Vo…, MD 260
- Low Hall County Fire…, GA 259
Department Profile
- Type
- CAREER
- Location
- New Bedford, MA
- County
- Bristol County
- FDID
- 05201
FEMA Grant History
| Year | Award | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | EMW-2023-FG-01165 | $189,547.68 |
| 2019 | EMW-2019-FG-00143 | $724,130 |
| 2017 | EMW2015FH00101 | $4,612,419 |
| 2017 | EMW2016FO02643 | $281,382 |
| 2013 | EMW2013FH00341 | $12,270,158 |
| 2013 | EMW2012FR00136 | $330,185 |
| 2011 | EMW-2011-FO-0151 | $635,392 |
| 2011 | EMW2010FH00643 | $-581 |
| 2010 | EMW-2010-FH-0064 | $12,898,233 |
Source: USAspending.gov (CFDA 97.044 AFG / 97.083 SAFER)
Staffing vs the Massachusetts average
How New Bedford Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Massachusetts. In-state it ranks #3 of 326 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #144 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 7
- State fire deaths/yr
- 51
- MA departments
- 568
County roster geometry
Bristol County HIFLD mix around New Bedford Fire Department
Bristol County: 41 departments, 1,637 personnel (10 volunteer / 12 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 80% of departments. County / state rollup.
2.67 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (7 stations / 262 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, MD (-2 personnel).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 262 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every MA department.