Department profile

Volunteer

Wessington Rural Fire Department

Wessington, SD · Beadle County. Wessington Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 33 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.

33
Total personnel
1
Stations
Not reported
Fire trucks
Not reported
EMS service

The verdict

Wessington Rural Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount well above the South Dakota average.

Top 40%
national personnel size
+65%
vs. South Dakota average
1
station

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
75/100
Wessington Rural 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 B
33 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
33 personnel · 1 station

Wessington Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Wessington, SD (Beadle County), with 1 station and 33 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #8,912 of 22,440.

  • National personnel rank #8,912 of 22,440
  • SD personnel rank #52 of 257
  • 3.03 stations per 100 personnel
  • 6 other listed departments in Beadle County

Wessington Rural Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution

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

33 Top 40% higher than 60% 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 04002 · Wessington Rural Fire Department, SD 33 personnel · 1 station

PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-PART

  • PERS-SMALL 33
  • STA-1 1 station
  • TYPE-VOL Volunteer
  • EMS-UNK EMS pending
  • RANK-UPPER #8,912
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Canyon Fire Distr…
  • FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
  • BOOK-PART 3/5 fields

Nearest personnel peer: Canyon Fire District, AZ (+ 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 SD department.

Department Profile

Type
VOLUNTEER
Location
Wessington, SD
FDID
04002

Staffing vs the South Dakota average

How Wessington Rural Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in South Dakota. In-state it ranks #52 of 257 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #8,912 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.

▲ 65% above the state average
Stations
1
State fire deaths/yr
17
SD departments
365

County roster weight

Wessington Rural Fire Department carries 28.7% of Beadle County HIFLD personnel

Among 7 listed departments (115 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 57% of the county count. County / state rollup.

3.03 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 33 roster).

Photo-finish peer: Canyon Fire District, AZ (+0 personnel).

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

Nearby Departments

Cavour Volunteer Fire Department
Cavour · volunteer
Hitchcock Volunteer Fire Department
Hitchcock · volunteer
All SD departments →

Nationwide volunteer peers near 33 personnel

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

Canyon Fire District, AZ 33 Endicott Fire Department, NY 33 Glen Aubrey Fire Department, NY 33 Sanitaria Springs Fire Company, NY 33 Hampton Fire Company, CT 33 Beaver Volunteer Fire Department, PA 33 Augusta-Ross Township Fire Department, MI 33 Grandville Fire Department, MI 33

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firefighters does Wessington Rural Fire Department have?

Wessington Rural Fire Department has 33 total personnel according to HIFLD data. This is 65% above the South Dakota average of 20 per department. Among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel, it ranks #8,912 of 22,440 by total personnel (same basis as the largest-departments ranking). Within SD, it ranks #52 of 257 by personnel.

Does Wessington Rural Fire Department provide EMS services?

EMS capability is not specified for Wessington Rural Fire Department in the HIFLD database.

How many fire stations does Wessington Rural Fire Department operate?

Wessington Rural Fire Department operates 1 fire station.

What type of fire department is Wessington Rural Fire Department?

Wessington Rural Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Beadle County, SD. Volunteer departments rely on community members who serve without full-time compensation.

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.