Department profile

Career (Paid)

Raleigh Fire Department

Raleigh, NC · Wake County. Raleigh Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 26 stations and 549 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

549
Total personnel
26
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

Raleigh Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the North Carolina average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+2012%
vs. North Carolina average
26
stations
$1,277,340
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
Raleigh 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 C
21.1 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
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
549 personnel · 26 stations

Raleigh Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Raleigh, NC (Wake County), with 26 stations and 549 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #50 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $1,277,340.

  • National personnel rank #50 of 22,440
  • NC personnel rank #2 of 932
  • 4.74 stations per 100 personnel
  • 24 other listed departments in Wake County

Raleigh Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

549 Top 1% higher than 99%+ 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 09213 · Raleigh Fire Department, NC 549 personnel · 26 stations

PERS-LARGE · STA-SYSTEM · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-N · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-LARGE 549
  • STA-SYSTEM 26 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-TOP #50
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ventura County Fi…
  • FEMA-MID $1.3M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Ventura County Fire Protection District, CA (+ 5 personnel)

Career/paid 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 NC department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Raleigh, NC
FDID
09213

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2016)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2016 EMW2015FH00076 $1,277,340

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

Staffing vs the North Carolina average

How Raleigh Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in North Carolina. In-state it ranks #2 of 932 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #50 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 2012% above the state average
Stations
26
State fire deaths/yr
131
NC departments
1,534

County roster weight

Raleigh Fire Department carries 32.2% of Wake County HIFLD personnel

Among 37 listed departments (1,707 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 41% of the county count. County / state rollup.

4.74 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (26 stations / 549 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Ventura County Fire Protection District, CA (+5 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Apex Fire Department
Apex · volunteer
Cary Fire Department
Cary · career
Fuquay-Varina Fire Department
Fuquay Varina · other
All NC departments →

Nationwide career peers near 549 personnel

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

Ventura County Fire Protection District, CA 554 Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Fire, KY 558 Chesterfield Fire and Emergency Medical Services, VA 533 Sacramento City Fire Department, CA 572 Shreveport Fire Department, LA 575 Baton Rouge Fire Department - Mechanic Shop, LA 575 City of Long Beach Fire Department, CA 521 Columbia Fire Department, SC 520

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Raleigh Fire Department have?

Raleigh Fire Department has 549 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 2012% above the North Carolina average of 26 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #50 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within NC, it ranks #2 of 932 by personnel.

Does Raleigh Fire Department provide EMS services?

Raleigh 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 Raleigh Fire Department operate?

Raleigh Fire Department operates 26 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Raleigh Fire Department?

Raleigh Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Wake County, NC. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Raleigh Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Raleigh Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $1,277,340 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2016 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2016.

How many fire departments are in North Carolina?

North Carolina has 1,534 fire departments with 40,350 total personnel. 57% 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.