Department profile

Career (Paid)

Virginia Beach Fire Department

Virginia Beach, VA · Virginia Beach City County. Virginia Beach Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department, 19 stations and 503 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

503
Total personnel
19
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
No
EMS service

The verdict

Virginia Beach Fire Department pairs top-1% national personnel with a headcount more than double the Virginia average.

Top 1%
national personnel size
+1424%
vs. Virginia average
19
stations
$2,232,851
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
58/100
Virginia Beach 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
26.5 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
503 personnel · 19 stations

Virginia Beach Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia Beach City County), with 19 stations and 503 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #56 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $2,232,851.

  • National personnel rank #56 of 22,440
  • VA personnel rank #3 of 414
  • 3.78 stations per 100 personnel
  • 4 other listed departments in Virginia Beach City County

Virginia Beach Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

503 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 81000 · Virginia Beach Fire Department, VA 503 personnel · 19 stations

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

  • PERS-LARGE 503
  • STA-MULTI 19 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-N No EMS flag
  • RANK-TOP #56
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Toledo Fire and R…
  • FEMA-MID $2.2M
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, OH (+ 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 VA department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY CAREER
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
FDID
81000

FEMA Grant History

$0
Cumulative funding (FY2009–2021)
0
Awards
Year Award Amount
2021 EMW-2021-FG-06059 $309,659.94
2020 EMW-2020-FG-12107 $368,119
2016 EMW2014FH00534 $1,368,000
2009 EMW-2009-FO-0593 $187,072

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

Staffing vs the Virginia average

How Virginia Beach Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Virginia. In-state it ranks #3 of 414 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #56 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 1424% above the state average
Stations
19
State fire deaths/yr
86
VA departments
766

County roster weight

Virginia Beach Fire Department carries 91.6% of Virginia Beach City County HIFLD personnel

Among 6 listed departments (549 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 17% of the county count. County / state rollup.

3.78 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (19 stations / 503 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, OH (+5 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Ocean Park Rescue Squad
Virginia Beach · volunteer
All VA departments →

Nationwide career peers near 503 personnel

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

Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, OH 508 Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, TX 508 Colorado Springs Fire Department Complex, CO 490 Santa Fe County Volunteer Fire - Edgewood District, NM 489 Columbia Fire Department, SC 520 City of Long Beach Fire Department, CA 521 Montgomery Fire Department, AL 478 Worcester Fire Department, MA 475

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Virginia Beach Fire Department have?

Virginia Beach Fire Department has 503 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 1424% above the Virginia average of 33 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #56 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within VA, it ranks #3 of 414 by personnel.

Does Virginia Beach Fire Department provide EMS services?

Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach Fire Department operate?

Virginia Beach Fire Department operates 19 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Virginia Beach Fire Department?

Virginia Beach Fire Department is a Career (Paid) department serving Virginia Beach City County, VA. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

Has Virginia Beach Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Virginia Beach Fire Department has received 4 FEMA grants totaling $2,232,850.94 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2009–2021 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2021.

How many fire departments are in Virginia?

Virginia has 766 fire departments with 25,415 total personnel. 67% 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.