Department profile

VolunteerEMS Provider

Watertown Fire Department

Watertown, WI · Jefferson County. Watertown Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 51 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.

51
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Yes
EMS service

The verdict

Watertown Fire Department pairs top-quartile national personnel with a headcount well above the Wisconsin average.

Top 17%
national personnel size
+82%
vs. Wisconsin average
1
station
$367,683
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
63/100
Watertown 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
51 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 D
$7,209 in AFG grant funding per staff member (national median $11,875, among departments with a grant on file)
51 personnel · 1 station

Watertown Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Watertown, WI (Jefferson County), with 1 station and 51 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #3,775 of 22,440. Cumulative FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on record: $367,683.

  • National personnel rank #3,775 of 22,440
  • WI personnel rank #88 of 695
  • 1.96 stations per 100 personnel
  • EMS provider (HIFLD)
  • 10 other listed departments in Jefferson County

Watertown Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

51 Top 17% higher than 83% 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 28090 · Watertown Fire Department, WI 51 personnel · 1 station

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

  • PERS-MID 51
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-Y EMS on file
  • RANK-UPPER #3,775
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Mercersburg-Montg…
  • FEMA-LIGHT $368K
  • BOOK-FULL 5/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Mercersburg-Montgomery-Peters-Warren Volunteer Fire Company, PA (+ 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 WI department.

Department Profile

Type
MOSTLY VOLUNTEER
Location
Watertown, WI
FDID
28090

FEMA Grant History

$368K
Cumulative funding (FY2018)
1
Awards
Year Award Amount
2018 EMW2016FH00486 $367,683

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

Staffing vs the Wisconsin average

How Watertown Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in Wisconsin. In-state it ranks #88 of 695 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #3,775 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 82% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
54
WI departments
961

County roster geometry

Jefferson County HIFLD mix around Watertown Fire Department

Jefferson County: 11 departments, 398 personnel (10 volunteer / 0 career / 0 combination); EMS flag on 64% of departments. County / state rollup.

1.96 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 51 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Mercersburg-Montgomery-Peters-Warren Volunteer Fire Company, PA (+0 personnel).

Nearby Departments

Fort Atkinson Fire Department
Fort Atkinson · volunteer
Helenville Volunteer Fire Department
Helenville · volunteer
Ixonia Fire Department
Ixonia · volunteer
Jefferson Fire Department
Jefferson · volunteer
Lake Mills Fire Department
Lake Mills · volunteer
Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department
Palmyra · volunteer
Rome Fire Department
Sullivan · other
All WI departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 51 personnel

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

Mercersburg-Montgomery-Peters-Warren Volunteer Fire Company, PA 51 Borough of Chambersburg Fire Department, PA 51 Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, CA 51 Spencer Fire and Emergency Services, MA 51 Dillingham Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, AK 51 Ringgold Area Volunteer Fire Company, PA 51 Oriskany Fire Department, NY 51 West Carthage Volunteer Fire Department, NY 51

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Watertown Fire Department have?

Watertown Fire Department has 51 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 82% above the Wisconsin average of 28 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #3,775 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within WI, it ranks #88 of 695 by personnel.

Does Watertown Fire Department provide EMS services?

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

How many fire stations does Watertown Fire Department operate?

Watertown Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Watertown Fire Department?

Watertown Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Jefferson County, WI. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

Has Watertown Fire Department received federal grants?

Yes, Watertown Fire Department has received 1 FEMA grant totaling $367,683 in cumulative AFG and SAFER awards across FY2018 (sum of all recorded award years, not a single-year figure). The most recent award year in our extract is FY2018.

How many fire departments are in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has 961 fire departments with 26,974 total personnel. 68% 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.