Department profile

Volunteer

Palmetto Rural Fire Department

Darlington, SC · Darlington County. Palmetto Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 2 stations and 18 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

18
Total personnel
2
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

Palmetto Rural Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount below the South Carolina average.

16th pct.
national personnel size
-28%
vs. South Carolina average
2
stations
$163,388
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
39/100
Palmetto Rural 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
9 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness B
4.5 vehicles per station (national median 2)
EMS integration
Not an EMS-capable department (USFA registry)
Federal investment D
$9,077 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
18 personnel · 2 stations

Palmetto Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Darlington, SC (Darlington County), with 2 stations and 18 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #18,758 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $163,388.

  • National personnel rank #18,758 of 22,440
  • SC personnel rank #356 of 473
  • 11.11 stations per 100 personnel
  • 6 other listed departments in Darlington County

Palmetto Rural Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

18 Top 84% higher than 16% 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 16208 · Palmetto Rural Fire Department, SC 18 personnel · 2 stations

PERS-SMALL · STA-FEW · TYPE-VOL · EMS-N · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 18
  • STA-FEW 2 stations
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-LOWER #18,758
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Wichita Mountain…
  • FEMA-LIGHT $163K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Wichita Mountain Estates Fire Department, OK (+ 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 SC department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Darlington, SC
FDID
16208

FEMA Grant History

$163K
Cumulative funding (FY2011–2015)
2
Awards
Year Award Amount
2015 EMW2014FO03271 $163,723
2011 EMW2010FH00568 $-335

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

Staffing vs the South Carolina average

How Palmetto Rural Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in South Carolina. In-state it ranks #356 of 473 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #18,758 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 28% below the state average
Stations
2
State fire deaths/yr
75
SC departments
689

County roster fringe

Palmetto Rural Fire Department is 5.8% of Darlington County roster mass

The county lists 9 departments totaling 311 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 11% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

11.11 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 18 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Wichita Mountain Estates Fire Department, OK (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

City of Darlington Fire Department
Darlington · volunteer
Darlington County Fire District
Hartsville · volunteer
Hartsville Fire Department
Hartsville · volunteer
Hartsville Rescue Squad
Hartsville · other
Society Hill Fire Department
Society Hill · volunteer
All SC departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 18 personnel

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

Wichita Mountain Estates Fire Department, OK 18 Fletcher Volunteer Fire Department, OK 18 Coshocton Fire Department, OH 18 Chattanooga Fire Department, OK 18 Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department, VA 18 Cohutta Volunteer Fire Department, GA 18 Benedict Volunteer Fire Department, NE 18 Dante Volunteer Fire Department, SD 18

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Palmetto Rural Fire Department have?

Palmetto Rural Fire Department has 18 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 28% below the South Carolina average of 25 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #18,758 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within SC, it ranks #356 of 473 by personnel.

Does Palmetto Rural Fire Department provide EMS services?

Palmetto Rural Fire Department is not listed as providing EMS in the HIFLD record. Contact local emergency services to confirm which agency covers medical calls.

How many fire stations does Palmetto Rural Fire Department operate?

Palmetto Rural Fire Department operates 2 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Palmetto Rural Fire Department?

Palmetto Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Darlington County, SC. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Palmetto Rural Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Palmetto Rural Fire Department has received 2 FEMA grants totaling $163,388 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2011–2015 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2015.

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.