Department profile

Career (Paid)EMS Provider

Watertown Fire and Rescue

Watertown, SD · Codington County. Watertown Fire and Rescue is a Career (Paid) department, 2 stations and 31 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.

31
Total personnel
2
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Watertown Fire and Rescue pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount well above the South Dakota average.

Top 44%
national personnel size
+55%
vs. South Dakota average
2
stations

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
35/100
Watertown Fire and Rescue

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
15.5 personnel per station (national median 23.5)
Equipment readiness C
2 vehicles per station (national median 2)
EMS integration
No EMS staffing breakdown on file
Federal investment
No FEMA AFG grant award on file for this department
31 personnel · 2 stations

Watertown Fire and Rescue is a Career (Paid) department serving Watertown, SD (Codington County), with 2 stations and 31 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #9,793 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #9,793 of 22,440
  • SD personnel rank #66 of 257
  • 6.45 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 4 other listed departments in Codington County

Watertown Fire and Rescue vs. the national personnel distribution

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

31 Top 44% higher than 56% 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 05101 · Watertown Fire and Rescue, SD 31 personnel · 2 stations

PERS-SMALL · STA-FEW · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-Y · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL

  • PERS-SMALL 31
  • STA-FEW 2 stations
  • TYPE-CAREER Career
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-MID #9,793
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hargetts Crossroa…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Hargetts Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, NC (+ 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 SD department.

Department Profile

Type
CAREER
Location
Watertown, SD
FDID
05101

Staffing vs the South Dakota average

How Watertown Fire and Rescue's personnel count compares to the typical department in South Dakota. In-state it ranks #66 of 257 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #9,793 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 55% above the state average
Stations
2
State fire deaths/yr
17
SD departments
365

County roster weight

Watertown Fire and Rescue carries 46.3% of Codington County HIFLD personnel

Among 5 listed departments (67 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 40% of the county count. County / state rollup.

6.45 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 31 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Hargetts Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, NC (+0 personnel).

No FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on this FDID in USAspending (empty federal book).

Nearby Departments

Florence Fire Department
Florence · volunteer
Henry Fire Department
Henry · other
South Shore Fire Department
South Shore · other
Wallace Fire Department
Wallace · volunteer
All SD departments →

Nationwide career peers near 31 personnel

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

Hargetts Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, NC 31 Pollocksville Volunteer Fire Department Incorporated, NC 31 Oak Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, AL 31 Dinwiddie Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Services, VA 31 Bozeman Fire Department, MT 31 Pleasant Valley Fire Company, MD 31 Madeira Beach Fire Department, FL 31 Carrboro Fire and Rescue, NC 31

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Watertown Fire and Rescue have?

Watertown Fire and Rescue has 31 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 55% above the South Dakota average of 20 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #9,793 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within SD, it ranks #66 of 257 by personnel.

Does Watertown Fire and Rescue provide EMS services?

Yes, Watertown Fire and Rescue provides Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in addition to fire response.

How many fire stations does Watertown Fire and Rescue operate?

Watertown Fire and Rescue operates 2 fire stations.

What type of fire department is Watertown Fire and Rescue?

Watertown Fire and Rescue is a Career (Paid) department serving Codington County, SD. Career departments employ full-time paid firefighters.

How many fire departments are in South Dakota?

South Dakota has 365 fire departments with 7,257 total personnel. 69% 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.