Department profile

Volunteer

Penn Township Fire Department

Vandalia, MI · Cass County. Penn Township Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 14 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

14
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

Penn Township Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount below the Michigan average.

7th pct.
national personnel size
-36%
vs. Michigan average
1
station
$333,337
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
42/100
Penn Township 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
14 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness
No vehicle count on file for this department
EMS integration
Not an EMS-capable department (USFA registry)
Federal investment B
$23,810 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
14 personnel · 1 station

Penn Township Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Vandalia, MI (Cass County), with 1 station and 14 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #20,871 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $333,337.

  • National personnel rank #20,871 of 22,440
  • MI personnel rank #928 of 1,008
  • 7.14 stations per 100 personnel
  • 10 other listed departments in Cass County

Penn Township Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

14 Top 93% higher than 7% 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 01411 · Penn Township Fire Department, MI 14 personnel · 1 station

PERS-MICRO · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-N · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-MICRO 14
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-LOWER #20,871
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ South Brooks Volu…
  • FEMA-LIGHT $333K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: South Brooks Volunteer Fire Department, GA (+ 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 MI department.

Department Profile

Type
VOLUNTEER
Location
Vandalia, MI
FDID
01411

FEMA Grant History

$333K
Cumulative funding (FY2023)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2023 EMW-2023-FG-03765 $333,337.14

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

Staffing vs the Michigan average

How Penn Township Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Michigan. In-state it ranks #928 of 1,008 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #20,871 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 36% below the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
112
MI departments
1,274

County roster fringe

Penn Township Fire Department is 5.0% of Cass County roster mass

The county lists 11 departments totaling 280 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 36% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

7.14 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 14 roster).

Photo-finish peer: South Brooks Volunteer Fire Department, GA (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Cassopolis Volunteer Fire Department
Cassopolis · volunteer
Dowagiac Fire Department
Dowagiac · volunteer
Edwardsburg Fire Department
Edwardsburg · volunteer
All MI departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 14 personnel

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

South Brooks Volunteer Fire Department, GA 14 Alpine Fire District, AZ 14 Waynesboro Fire Department, GA 14 Coppermine Volunteer Fire Department, AL 14 Terra Verde Heights Volunteer Fire Station, MT 14 Home Atherton Rural Fire Department, MT 14 Concho Fire Department, AZ 14 Barkhamsted East Fire Company, CT 14

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Penn Township Fire Department have?

Penn Township Fire Department has 14 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 36% below the Michigan average of 22 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #20,871 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MI, it ranks #928 of 1,008 by personnel.

Does Penn Township Fire Department provide EMS services?

Penn Township 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 Penn Township Fire Department operate?

Penn Township Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Penn Township Fire Department?

Penn Township Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Cass County, MI. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Penn Township Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Penn Township Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $333,337.14 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2023 (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 Michigan?

Michigan has 1,274 fire departments with 28,594 total personnel. 61% 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.