Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Sanford Fire Department

Sanford, NC · Lee County. Sanford Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 3 stations and 56 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.

56
Total personnel
3
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Sanford Fire Department pairs top-quartile national personnel with a headcount more than double the North Carolina average.

Top 14%
national personnel size
+115%
vs. North Carolina average
3
stations
$587,277
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.

D
PlainFireData Composite Score
38/100
Sanford 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 D
18.7 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 C
$10,487 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
56 personnel · 3 stations

Sanford Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Sanford, NC (Lee County), with 3 stations and 56 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #3,043 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $587,277.

  • National personnel rank #3,043 of 22,440
  • NC personnel rank #91 of 932
  • 5.36 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 8 other listed departments in Lee County

Sanford Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

56 Top 14% higher than 86% 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 05304 · Sanford Fire Department, NC 56 personnel · 3 stations

PERS-MID · STA-FEW · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-MID · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-MID 56
  • STA-FEW 3 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #3,043
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Westport
  • FEMA-MID $587K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Westport Fire Department, MA (+ 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 NC department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY CAREER
Location
Sanford, NC
FDID
05304

FEMA Grant History

$587K
Cumulative funding (FY2011–2022)
2
Awards
Year Award Amount
2022 EMW-2022-FG-04476 $338,176.19
2011 EMW-2011-FO-0075 $249,101

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

Staffing vs the North Carolina average

How Sanford Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in North Carolina. In-state it ranks #91 of 932 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #3,043 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 115% above the state average
Stations
3
State fire deaths/yr
131
NC departments
1,534

County roster weight

Sanford Fire Department carries 25.0% of Lee County HIFLD personnel

Among 10 listed departments (224 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 50% of the county count. County / state rollup.

5.36 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (3 stations / 56 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Westport Fire Department, MA (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

All NC departments →

Nationwide career peers near 56 personnel

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

Westport Fire Department, MA 56 Berkley Fire Department, MA 56 Golden Fire Department, CO 56 King Ferry Fire Department, NY 56 Portage Fire Department, MI 56 Norwich Fire Department, CT 56 Southern Platte Fire Protection District, MO 56 Newburyport Fire Department, MA 56

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Sanford Fire Department have?

Sanford Fire Department has 56 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 115% above the North Carolina average of 26 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #3,043 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within NC, it ranks #91 of 932 by personnel.

Does Sanford Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Sanford Fire Department operate?

Sanford Fire Department operates 3 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Sanford Fire Department?

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

Has Sanford Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Sanford Fire Department has received 2 FEMA grants totaling $587,277.19 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2011–2022 (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.