Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Oceanside Fire Department

Oceanside, CA · San Diego County. Oceanside Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 8 stations and 126 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.

126
Total personnel
8
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Oceanside Fire Department pairs top-5% national personnel with a headcount more than double the California average.

Top 3%
national personnel size
+241%
vs. California average
8
stations
$3,571,697
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
24/100
Oceanside 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
15.8 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
126 personnel · 8 stations

Oceanside Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Oceanside, CA (San Diego County), with 8 stations and 126 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #599 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $3,571,697.

  • National personnel rank #599 of 22,440
  • CA personnel rank #51 of 721
  • 6.35 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 63 other listed departments in San Diego County

Oceanside Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

126 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 37115 · Oceanside Fire Department, CA 126 personnel · 8 stations

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

  • PERS-MID 126
  • STA-MULTI 8 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-TOP #599
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Westmoreland
  • FEMA-MID $3.6M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Westmoreland Fire Department, NY (+ 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
Oceanside, CA
FDID
37115

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2013–2023)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2023 EMW-2023-FG-04462 $340,746.89
2020 EMW-2020-FG-01982 $285,150.7
2015 EMW2014FO05175 $525,075
2013 EMW2012FH00423 $2,420,724

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

Staffing vs the California average

How Oceanside Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #51 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #599 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 241% above the state average
Stations
8
State fire deaths/yr
346
CA departments
1,309

County roster fringe

Oceanside Fire Department is 3.4% of San Diego County roster mass

The county lists 83 departments totaling 3,721 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 87% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

6.35 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (8 stations / 126 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Westmoreland Fire Department, NY (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Barona Fire Protection District
Lakeside · career
Borrego Springs Fire Protection District
Borrego Springs · career
All CA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 126 personnel

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

Westmoreland Fire Department, NY 126 Worcester County Fire Department / Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company, MD 126 Sayville Fire Department, NY 126 Selden Fire Department, NY 126 Harrisburg Bureau of Fire, PA 126 Ogden City Fire Department, UT 126 Central Yavapai Fire District, AZ 126 Lake Charles Fire Department, LA 126

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Oceanside Fire Department have?

Oceanside Fire Department has 126 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 241% above the California average of 37 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #599 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within CA, it ranks #51 of 721 by personnel.

Does Oceanside Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Oceanside Fire Department operate?

Oceanside Fire Department operates 8 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Oceanside Fire Department?

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

Has Oceanside Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Oceanside Fire Department has received 4 FEMA grants totaling $3,571,696.59 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2013–2023 (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.