Departments
1,274
HIFLD registered
State profile
1,261 departments in the HIFLD registry across 83 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
1,274
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
28,594
career + volunteer
Counties covered
83
of 83 counties
61% of 1261 departments rely primarily on volunteer crews — a strong indicator of rural geography and tax base.
How wildfire acreage concentrates by fire size class — national context for Michigan
743 departments (59%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KALAMAZOO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Kalamazoo | career | 325 |
| 2 | CITY OF FLINT FIRE DEPARTMENT Flint | career | 240 |
| 3 | LANSING FIRE AND RESCUE Lansing | career | 235 |
| 4 | TROY FIRE DEPARTMENT Troy | volunteer | 194 |
| 5 | CITY OF WARREN FIRE DEPARTMENT Warren | career | 172 |
| 6 | FARMINGTON HILLS FIRE DEPARTMENT Farmington Hills | volunteer | 134 |
| 7 | DEARBORN FIRE DEPARTMENT Dearborn | career | 123 |
| 8 | PONTIAC FIRE DEPARTMENT Pontiac | career | 117 |
| 9 | CITY OF SOUTHFIELD FIRE DEPARTMENT Southfield | career | 109 |
| 10 | BATTLE CREEK FIRE DEPARTMENT Battle Creek | career | 103 |
Michigan operates 1,274 fire departments with 28,594 reported personnel across 83 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 114 career (paid) departments, 774 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 61% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 743 of these departments (59%) also run Emergency Medical Services in-house, while the rest rely on separate EMS agencies or county-level providers.
Risk and outcome data from USFA adds the human side of these structural numbers. Michigan records approximately 54,500 fires per year, leading to 112 fire deaths and 584 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $523M per year, which insurers fold into ISO Public Protection Classification scores and homeowners premiums. Those statewide totals are absorbed unevenly: dense metros tend to drive call volume and career staffing, while rural counties lean on volunteer crews covering large response districts with longer arrival times. The ranking position of #23 among peers reflects the interaction of these factors rather than any single metric.
For homeowners, insurers, journalists, and policy staff, this page is a starting point rather than a verdict. Reading department-by-department profiles reveals which jurisdictions carry the heaviest load (see the largest-by-personnel list above) and which counties have thinner coverage (browse the counties panel). Cross-referencing fire cause data, state fire codes, and FEMA AFG/SAFER grant history paints a fuller picture of where federal and state investment has flowed and where staffing gaps remain. All figures come directly from the HIFLD Open Data program (FEMA/DHS) and USFA published fire statistics; counts can lag real-world changes by 6 to 18 months and small volunteer departments are sometimes underreported, so treat single-department anomalies as cues to verify with the local agency.
Data from HIFLD Open Data and USFA published statistics. Coverage may vary.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.