Department profile
VolunteerWest Swain Fire Department
Bryson City, NC · Swain County. West Swain Fire Department is a Volunteer department, 1 station and 40 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.
- 40
- Total personnel
- 1
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- No
- EMS service
The verdict
West Swain Fire Department pairs above-median national personnel with a headcount well above the North Carolina average.
- Top 29%
- national personnel size
- +54%
- vs. North Carolina 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.
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.
West Swain Fire Department is a Volunteer department serving Bryson City, NC (Swain County), with 1 station and 40 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #6,418 of 22,440.
- National personnel rank #6,418 of 22,440
- NC personnel rank #321 of 932
- 2.50 stations per 100 personnel
- 3 other listed departments in Swain County
West Swain Fire Department vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
40 Top 29% higher than 71% 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 08703 · West Swain Fire Department, NC 40 personnel · 1 station
PERS-SMALL · STA-1 · TYPE-VOL · EMS-N · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-SMALL 40
- STA-1 1 station
- TYPE-VOL Volunteer
- EMS-N No EMS flag
- RANK-UPPER #6,418
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Crocker Fire Prot…
- FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
- BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Crocker Fire Protection District, MO (+ 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 NC department.
- West Swain (this dept) 40
- High Brent Volunteer, FL 40
- Near Crocker Fire Prot…, MO 40
- Near Bassett Volunteer, VA 40
- Near Afton, NY 40
Department Profile
- Type
- VOLUNTEER
- Location
- Bryson City, NC
- County
- Swain County
- FDID
- 08703
Staffing vs the North Carolina average
How West Swain Fire Department's personnel count compares to the typical department in North Carolina. In-state it ranks #321 of 932 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #6,418 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 1
- State fire deaths/yr
- 131
- NC departments
- 1,534
County roster weight
West Swain Fire Department carries 38.5% of Swain County HIFLD personnel
Among 4 listed departments (104 personnel), this FDID is the plurality weight, while volunteer departments are 75% of the county count. County / state rollup.
2.50 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (1 station / 40 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Crocker Fire Protection District, MO (+0 personnel).
No FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on this FDID in USAspending (empty federal book).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide volunteer peers near 40 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every NC department.