Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

South Chicago Heights Fire Department

South Chicago Heights, IL · Cook County. South Chicago Heights Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 38 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.

38
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

South Chicago Heights Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount well above the Illinois average.

Top 31%
national personnel size
+65%
vs. Illinois average
1
station
$873,291
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
76/100
South Chicago Heights 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
38 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
$22,981 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
38 personnel · 1 station

South Chicago Heights Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving South Chicago Heights, IL (Cook County), with 1 station and 38 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #6,865 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $873,291.

  • National personnel rank #6,865 of 22,440
  • IL personnel rank #281 of 971
  • 2.63 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 128 other listed departments in Cook County

South Chicago Heights Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

38 Top 31% higher than 69% 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 CS832 · South Chicago Heights Fire Department, IL 38 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-SMALL 38
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #6,865
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Alabama-Coushatta…
  • FEMA-MID $873K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Alabama-Coushatta Indian Nation Fire Department, TX (+ 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 IL department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
South Chicago Heights, IL
FDID
CS832

FEMA Grant History

$873K
Cumulative funding (FY2019–2024)
3
Awards
Year Award Amount
2024 EMW-2024-FG-02940 $178,300
2019 EMW-2019-FG-03666 $571,429
2019 EMW-2019-FF-00530 $123,562

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

Staffing vs the Illinois average

How South Chicago Heights Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Illinois. In-state it ranks #281 of 971 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #6,865 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 65% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
127
IL departments
1,493

County roster fringe

South Chicago Heights Fire Department is 0.7% 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.

2.63 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 38 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Alabama-Coushatta Indian Nation 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 volunteer peers near 38 personnel

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

Alabama-Coushatta Indian Nation Fire Department, TX 38 Argyle Volunteer Fire District, TX 38 City of Orange Fire Department, TX 38 City of Taylorsville Fire Department, KY 38 Clifton Volunteer Fire Department, TX 38 Elliotville Fire Department, KY 38 Ellsworth Fire Department, ME 38 Lamar Point Volunteer Fire Department, TX 38

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does South Chicago Heights Fire Department have?

South Chicago Heights Fire Department has 38 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 65% above the Illinois average of 23 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #6,865 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within IL, it ranks #281 of 971 by personnel.

Does South Chicago Heights Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does South Chicago Heights Fire Department operate?

South Chicago Heights Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is South Chicago Heights Fire Department?

South Chicago Heights Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Cook County, IL. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has South Chicago Heights Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, South Chicago Heights Fire Department has received 3 FEMA grants totaling $873,291 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2019–2024 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2024.

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.