Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Plainville Fire Department

Plainville, MA · Norfolk County. Plainville Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 42 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.

42
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Plainville Fire Department pairs top-quartile national personnel with a headcount above the Massachusetts average.

Top 25%
national personnel size
+20%
vs. Massachusetts average
1
station
$266,667
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
55/100
Plainville 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 A
42 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness C
2 vehicles per station (national median 2)
EMS integration
No EMS staffing breakdown on file
Federal investment D
$6,349 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
42 personnel · 1 station

Plainville Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Plainville, MA (Norfolk County), with 1 station and 42 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #5,577 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $266,667.

  • National personnel rank #5,577 of 22,440
  • MA personnel rank #150 of 326
  • 2.38 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 30 other listed departments in Norfolk County

Plainville Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

42 Top 25% higher than 75% 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 21238 · Plainville Fire Department, MA 42 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-Y · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-LIGHT · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 42
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #5,577
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ East Herkimer Vol…
  • FEMA-LIGHT $267K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: East Herkimer Volunteer 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
Plainville, MA
FDID
21238

FEMA Grant History

$267K
Cumulative funding (FY2020)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2020 EMW-2020-FG-13600 $266,666.67

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

Staffing vs the Massachusetts average

How Plainville Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Massachusetts. In-state it ranks #150 of 326 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #5,577 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 20% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
51
MA departments
568

County roster fringe

Plainville Fire Department is 2.6% of Norfolk County roster mass

The county lists 44 departments totaling 1,632 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 91% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

2.38 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 42 roster).

Photo-finish peer: East Herkimer Volunteer Fire Department, NY (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Avon Fire Department
Avon · volunteer
Bellingham Fire Department
Bellingham · career
Braintree Fire Department
Braintree · career
Brookline Fire Department
Chestnut Hill · other
Brookline Fire Department
Brookline · career
Canton Fire Department
Canton · career
Cohasset Fire Department
Cohasset · other
All MA departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 42 personnel

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

East Herkimer Volunteer Fire Department, NY 42 Mohawk Fire Department, NY 42 Burns Fire Department, TN 42 South Charleston Fire Department, WV 42 East Bank Volunteer Fire Department, WV 42 West Athens-Lime Street Fire Company, NY 42 Goodlettsville Fire Department, TN 42 Perth Volunteer Fire Company, NY 42

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Plainville Fire Department have?

Plainville Fire Department has 42 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 20% above the Massachusetts average of 35 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #5,577 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within MA, it ranks #150 of 326 by personnel.

Does Plainville Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Plainville Fire Department operate?

Plainville Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Plainville Fire Department?

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

Has Plainville Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Plainville Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $266,666.67 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2020 (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.