Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Petal Fire Department

Petal, MS · Forrest County. Petal Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 2 stations and 27 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.

27
Total personnel
2
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Petal Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount well above the Mississippi average.

45th pct.
national personnel size
+80%
vs. Mississippi average
2
stations
$741,350
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
43/100
Petal 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
13.5 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 B
$27,457 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
27 personnel · 2 stations

Petal Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Petal, MS (Forrest County), with 2 stations and 27 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #12,241 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $741,350.

  • National personnel rank #12,241 of 22,440
  • MS personnel rank #148 of 316
  • 7.41 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 10 other listed departments in Forrest County

Petal Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

27 Top 55% higher than 45% 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 18009 · Petal Fire Department, MS 27 personnel · 2 stations

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

  • PERS-SMALL 27
  • STA-FEW 2 stations
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-MID #12,241
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Cuyahoga Heights
  • FEMA-MID $741K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department, OH (+ 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 MS department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Petal, MS
FDID
18009

FEMA Grant History

$741K
Cumulative funding (FY2017)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2017 EMW2016FH00128 $741,350

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

Staffing vs the Mississippi average

How Petal Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Mississippi. In-state it ranks #148 of 316 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #12,241 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 80% above the state average
Stations
2
State fire deaths/yr
63
MS departments
751

County roster geometry

Forrest County HIFLD mix around Petal Fire Department

Forrest County: 15 departments, 262 personnel (5 volunteer / 1 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 47% of departments. County / state rollup.

7.41 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 27 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department, OH (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Carnes Volunteer Fire Department
Lumberton · volunteer
Dixie Volunteer Fire Department
Hattiesburg · volunteer
Hattiesburg Fire Department
Hattiesburg · career
McLaurin Volunteer Fire Department
Hattiesburg · volunteer
North Forrest Volunteer Fire Department
Hattiesburg · volunteer
All MS departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 27 personnel

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

Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department, OH 27 Highland Hills Fire Department, OH 27 Town of Tazewell Volunteer Fire Department, VA 27 Golva Fire Protection District, ND 27 West Milford Community Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, WV 27 Carlisle Fire Department, MA 27 Elsinboro Fire Company, NJ 27 Cedar Valley Fire Protection District, ND 27

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Petal Fire Department have?

Petal Fire Department has 27 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 80% above the Mississippi average of 15 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #12,241 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MS, it ranks #148 of 316 by personnel.

Does Petal Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Petal Fire Department operate?

Petal Fire Department operates 2 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Petal Fire Department?

Petal Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Forrest County, MS. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Petal Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Petal Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $741,350 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2017 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2017.

How many fire departments are in Mississippi?

Mississippi has 751 fire departments with 11,222 total personnel. 37% 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.