Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Rutherfordton Fire Department

Rutherfordton, NC · Rutherford County. Rutherfordton Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 23 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.

23
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Rutherfordton Fire Department pairs modest national personnel with a headcount in line with the North Carolina average.

32nd pct.
national personnel size
-12%
vs. North Carolina average
1
station
$1,158,078
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.

B
PlainFireData Composite Score
67/100
Rutherfordton 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
23 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 A
$50,351 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
23 personnel · 1 station

Rutherfordton Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Rutherfordton, NC (Rutherford County), with 1 station and 23 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #15,297 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $1,158,078.

  • National personnel rank #15,297 of 22,440
  • NC personnel rank #849 of 932
  • 4.35 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 17 other listed departments in Rutherford County

Rutherfordton Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

23 Top 68% higher than 32% 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 08109 · Rutherfordton Fire Department, NC 23 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 23
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-LOWER #15,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Scio Township
  • FEMA-MID $1.2M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Scio Township Fire Department, MI (+ 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 NC department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Rutherfordton, NC
FDID
08109

FEMA Grant History

$1.2M
Cumulative funding (FY2013–2022)
4
Awards
Year Award Amount
2022 EMW-2022-FG-02405 $58,524.76
2021 EMW-2021-FG-06554 $252,877.25
2016 EMW2015FF00047 $300,646
2013 EMW2012FR00224 $546,030

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

Staffing vs the North Carolina average

How Rutherfordton Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in North Carolina. In-state it ranks #849 of 932 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #15,297 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▼ 12% below the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
131
NC departments
1,534

County roster fringe

Rutherfordton Fire Department is 3.7% of Rutherford County roster mass

The county lists 21 departments totaling 618 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 52% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.

4.35 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 23 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Scio Township Fire Department, MI (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Bills Creek Volunteer Fire Department
Lake Lure · volunteer
Bostic Volunteer Fire Department
Bostic · volunteer
Chimney Rock Volunteer Fire Department
Chimney Rock · volunteer
Ellenboro Volunteer Fire Department
Ellenboro · volunteer
All NC departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 23 personnel

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

Scio Township Fire Department, MI 23 Smith River Fire Protection District, CA 23 Walton Fire Protection District, KY 23 Lawrence Township Fire Department, MI 23 North Jackson Fire Department, GA 23 Caruthersville Fire Department, MO 23 Olathe Fire Protection District, CO 23 Sandusky Community Fire Department, MI 23

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Rutherfordton Fire Department have?

Rutherfordton Fire Department has 23 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 12% below the North Carolina average of 26 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #15,297 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within NC, it ranks #849 of 932 by personnel.

Does Rutherfordton Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Rutherfordton Fire Department operate?

Rutherfordton Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Rutherfordton Fire Department?

Rutherfordton Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Rutherford County, NC. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Rutherfordton Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Rutherfordton Fire Department has received 4 FEMA grants totaling $1,158,078.01 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2013–2022 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2022.

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.