Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

North Charleston Fire Department

North Charleston, SC · Charleston County. North Charleston Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 11 stations and 147 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.

147
Total personnel
11
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

North Charleston Fire Department pairs top-5% national personnel with a headcount more than double the South Carolina average.

Top 2%
national personnel size
+488%
vs. South Carolina average
11
stations
$2,399,127
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.

F
PlainFireData Composite Score
15/100
North Charleston 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 F
13.4 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
147 personnel · 11 stations

North Charleston Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving North Charleston, SC (Charleston County), with 11 stations and 147 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #435 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $2,399,127.

  • National personnel rank #435 of 22,440
  • SC personnel rank #9 of 473
  • 7.48 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 18 other listed departments in Charleston County

North Charleston Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

147 Top 2% higher than 98% 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 10308 · North Charleston Fire Department, SC 147 personnel · 11 stations

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

  • PERS-MID 147
  • STA-MULTI 11 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #435
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lakeland
  • FEMA-MID $2.4M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Lakeland Fire Department, FL (+ 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 SC department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
North Charleston, SC
FDID
10308

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2014)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2014 EMW2013FH00266 $2,399,127

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

Staffing vs the South Carolina average

How North Charleston Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in South Carolina. In-state it ranks #9 of 473 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #435 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 488% above the state average
Stations
11
State fire deaths/yr
75
SC departments
689

County roster geometry

Charleston County HIFLD mix around North Charleston Fire Department

Charleston County: 24 departments, 1,130 personnel (2 volunteer / 8 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 42% of departments. County / state rollup.

7.48 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (11 stations / 147 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Lakeland Fire Department, FL (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Awendaw District Fire Department
Mount Pleasant · other
Awendaw Fire District
Awendaw · career
Awendew District Fire Department
Mc Clellanville · other
City of Charleston Fire Department
Charleston · career
Folly Beach Public Service
Folly Beach · volunteer
Isle of Palms Fire Department
Isle Of Palms · career
James Island Fire Department
James Island · other
James Island Public Service District
James Island · other
All SC departments →

Nationwide career peers near 147 personnel

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

Lakeland Fire Department, FL 147 Cape Coral Fire Department, FL 147 Lawrence Township Fire Department / Castleton, IN 147 Amityville Fire Department, NY 147 Ocala Fire and Rescue, FL 146 Delray Beach Fire Rescue, FL 148 Coral Gables Fire Department, FL 146 Westminster Fire Department, CO 146

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does North Charleston Fire Department have?

North Charleston Fire Department has 147 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 488% above the South Carolina average of 25 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #435 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within SC, it ranks #9 of 473 by personnel.

Does North Charleston Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does North Charleston Fire Department operate?

North Charleston Fire Department operates 11 fire stations.

What type of fire department is North Charleston Fire Department?

North Charleston Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Charleston County, SC. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has North Charleston Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, North Charleston Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $2,399,127 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2014 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2014.

How many fire departments are in South Carolina?

South Carolina has 689 fire departments with 17,475 total personnel. 49% 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.