Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

River Forest Fire Department

River Forest, IL · Cook County. River Forest Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 1 station and 22 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.

22
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

River Forest Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount in line with the Illinois average.

29th pct.
national personnel size
-4%
vs. Illinois average
1
station
$608,000
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
59/100
River Forest 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
22 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
$27,636 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
22 personnel · 1 station

River Forest Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving River Forest, IL (Cook County), with 1 station and 22 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #15,938 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $608,000.

  • National personnel rank #15,938 of 22,440
  • IL personnel rank #751 of 971
  • 4.55 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 128 other listed departments in Cook County

River Forest Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

22 Top 71% higher than 29% 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 CS122 · River Forest Fire Department, IL 22 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 22
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-LOWER #15,938
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ables Springs Vol…
  • FEMA-MID $608K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Ables Springs Volunteer Fire Department, TX (+ 0 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 IL department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
River Forest, IL
FDID
CS122

FEMA Grant History

$608K
Cumulative funding (FY2013)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2013 EMW2012FV01514 $608,000

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

Staffing vs the Illinois average

How River Forest Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Illinois. In-state it ranks #751 of 971 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #15,938 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 4% below the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
127
IL departments
1,493

County roster fringe

River Forest Fire Department is 0.4% of Cook County roster mass

The county lists 181 departments totaling 5,736 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 84% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

4.55 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 22 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Ables Springs Volunteer Fire Department, TX (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Alsip Fire Department
Alsip · career
Arlington Heights Fire Department
Arlington Heights · career
Barrington Countryside Fire Department
Barrington Hills · other
Bartlett Fire Protection District
Bartlett · volunteer
Bedford Park Fire Department
Bedford Park · career
Berkeley Fire Department
Berkeley · volunteer
Berwyn Fire Department
Berwyn · career
All IL departments →

Nationwide career peers near 22 personnel

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

Ables Springs Volunteer Fire Department, TX 22 Alba Volunteer Fire Department, TX 22 Allensville Volunteer Fire Department, KY 22 Beckville Volunteer Fire Department, TX 22 Universal City Fire Department, TX 22 Monett City Fire Department, MO 22 Fitzgerald Fire Department, GA 22 Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station Fire Department-Dod, CO 22

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does River Forest Fire Department have?

River Forest Fire Department has 22 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 4% below the Illinois average of 23 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #15,938 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within IL, it ranks #751 of 971 by personnel.

Does River Forest Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does River Forest Fire Department operate?

River Forest Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is River Forest Fire Department?

River Forest Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Cook County, IL. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has River Forest Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, River Forest Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $608,000 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2013 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2013.

How many fire departments are in Illinois?

Illinois has 1,493 fire departments with 34,868 total personnel. 55% 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.