Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Onset Fire Department

Onset, MA · Plymouth County. Onset Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 2 stations and 65 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.

65
Total personnel
2
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Onset Fire Department pairs top-10% national personnel with a headcount well above the Massachusetts average.

Top 10%
national personnel size
+86%
vs. Massachusetts average
2
stations
$606,407
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.

C
PlainFireData Composite Score
58/100
Onset 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 B
32.5 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 D
$9,329 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
65 personnel · 2 stations

Onset Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Onset, MA (Plymouth County), with 2 stations and 65 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #2,248 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $606,407.

  • National personnel rank #2,248 of 22,440
  • MA personnel rank #60 of 326
  • 3.08 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 30 other listed departments in Plymouth County

Onset Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

65 Top 10% higher than 90% 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 23993 · Onset Fire Department, MA 65 personnel · 2 stations

PERS-MID · STA-FEW · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-MID 65
  • STA-FEW 2 stations
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #2,248
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Croghan
  • FEMA-MID $606K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Croghan Fire Department, NY (+ 0 personnel)

Volunteer 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.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Onset, MA
FDID
23993

FEMA Grant History

$606K
Cumulative funding (FY2012–2020)
3
Awards
Year Award Amount
2020 EMW-2020-FF-00128 $166,338.96
2017 EMW2016FV01421 $271,429
2012 EMW2011FO05936 $168,639

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

Staffing vs the Massachusetts average

How Onset Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Massachusetts. In-state it ranks #60 of 326 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #2,248 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 86% above the state average
Stations
2
State fire deaths/yr
51
MA departments
568

County roster fringe

Onset Fire Department is 4.5% of Plymouth County roster mass

The county lists 47 departments totaling 1,438 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 81% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

3.08 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 65 roster).

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

Nearby Departments

Abington Fire Department
Abington · career
Bridgewater Fire Department
Bridgewater · career
Brockton Fire Department
Brockton · career
Carver Fire Department
Carver · volunteer
Duxbury Fire Department
Duxbury · career
East Bridgewater Fire Department
East Bridgewater · career
Halifax Fire Department
Halifax · volunteer
Hanover Fire Department
Hanover · volunteer
All MA departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 65 personnel

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

Croghan Fire Department, NY 65 Upper Arlington Fire Division, OH 65 Grenada Fire Department, MS 65 South Newton Township Volunteer Fire Company, PA 65 Hamilton Fire Department, NY 65 Kiskatom Volunteer Fire Department, NY 65 Mamou Volunteer Fire Department, LA 65 Marion Volunteer Fire Company, PA 65

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Onset Fire Department have?

Onset Fire Department has 65 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 86% above the Massachusetts average of 35 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #2,248 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MA, it ranks #60 of 326 by personnel.

Does Onset Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Onset Fire Department operate?

Onset Fire Department operates 2 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Onset Fire Department?

Onset Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Plymouth County, MA. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Onset Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Onset Fire Department has received 3 FEMA grants totaling $606,406.96 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2012–2020 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2020.

How many fire departments are in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has 568 fire departments with 19,841 total personnel. 35% 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.