Departments
1,501
HIFLD registered
State profile
1,489 departments in the HIFLD registry across 88 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
1,501
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
44,930
career + volunteer
Counties covered
88
of 88 counties
62% of 1489 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 Ohio
1,094 departments (73%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | COLUMBUS DIVISION OF FIRE Columbus | career | 1,675 |
| 2 | CLEVELAND FIRE DEPARTMENT Cleveland | career | 1,028 |
| 3 | TOLEDO FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT Toledo | career | 508 |
| 4 | AKRON FIRE DEPARTMENT Akron | career | 420 |
| 5 | WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT Dayton | volunteer | 208 |
| 6 | COLERAIN TOWNSHIP DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES Cincinnati | volunteer | 176 |
| 7 | KETTERING FIRE DEPARTMENT Kettering | volunteer | 176 |
| 8 | CANTON FIRE DEPARTMENT Canton | career | 173 |
| 9 | MENTOR FIRE DEPARTMENT Mentor | volunteer | 159 |
| 10 | WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES Dublin | career | 155 |
Ohio operates 1,501 fire departments with 44,930 reported personnel across 88 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 185 career (paid) departments, 920 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 62% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 1,094 of these departments (73%) 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. Ohio records approximately 68,900 fires per year, leading to 138 fire deaths and 718 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $707M 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 #24 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.