Fire codes

District of Columbia Fire Code & Departments

Lower incident rank (#50 of 51 nationally) but still on International Fire Code (IFC) - useful for comparing enforcement capacity vs fire load.

International Fire Code (IFC) Adopted 2021

International Fire Code (IFC)

Washington DC adopts the IFC with local amendments through the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

International Fire Code (IFC) · fires rank #50 of 51

District of Columbia adopts International Fire Code (IFC) (2021), shared by 33 of 51 states in this extract. 1 fire departments; the state ranks #50 of 51 nationally by annual fires (USFA).

  • Annual-fires rank #50 of 51 nationally
  • 33 of 51 states share this code type
  • 1 career / 0 volunteer depts
1
Fire Departments
57
Total Personnel
0
Volunteer Depts
1
Career Depts

District of Columbia's lower-incident code desk

Lower fires rank (#50 of 51) does not remove the statewide floor, it changes how often departments exercise inspection calendars against International Fire Code (IFC).

Enforcement capacity skews career-heavy: 1 career vs 0 volunteer departments (100% of typed orgs), with 57 HIFLD personnel statewide. Career-led states more often staff full-time fire marshals for plan review and occupancy inspections under the adopted code.

USFA annual-fires rank for District of Columbia is #50 of 51 (~5,200 fires/year ; 4 fire deaths; 65 injuries). Pair that incident load with the adoption vintage above when judging how hard the code is tested in the field. Figures: HIFLD Open Data ( FEMA / U.S. Fire Administration ), USFA published statistics, and state code-adoption records in this portal's extract.

Same International Fire Code (IFC) family: nearest adoption peers

  • AL · adopted 2021 (same model year)
  • AR · adopted 2021 (same model year)
  • CO · adopted 2021 (same model year)
  • GA · adopted 2021 (same model year)
  • IL · adopted 2021 (same model year)
  • MD · adopted 2021 (same model year)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many fire departments are in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia has 1 fire departments registered in the HIFLD database, including 1 career departments and 0 volunteer departments with 57 total personnel.
How does District of Columbia's fire load compare nationally?
USFA ranks District of Columbia #50 of 51 by annual fires (~5,200 fires/year in this extract). Pair that load with the adoption vintage and department mix on this page, high-load states stress code enforcement differently than low-load peers on the same code family.
What fire code does District of Columbia use?
District of Columbia adopts the International Fire Code (IFC) (adopted 2021). Washington DC adopts the IFC with local amendments through the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.
How current is District of Columbia's adopted fire code?
District of Columbia shows adoption year 2021 in this extract (mid-cycle band, 2019–2021). Local amendments can still tighten sprinkler or wildland rules beyond the statewide floor.
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFireData

Keep reading: Fire safety by state (pairs adoption vintage with incident load).