Departments
2,427
HIFLD registered
State profile
1,828 departments in the HIFLD registry across 67 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
2,427
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
85,879
career + volunteer
Counties covered
67
of 67 counties
67% of 1828 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 Pennsylvania
1,140 departments (62%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUN VALLEY VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY Effort | volunteer | 331 |
| 2 | ROCKY GROVE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Franklin | volunteer | 327 |
| 3 | UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT - UPPER DARBY FIRE COMPANY Upper Darby | volunteer | 308 |
| 4 | MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT 1 - KECKSBURG Mount Pleasant | volunteer | 210 |
| 5 | YARDLEY-MAKEFIELD FIRE COMPANY Yardley | volunteer | 210 |
| 6 | BERLIN FIRE DEPARTMENT INCORPORATED Berlin | volunteer | 200 |
| 7 | NEW KINGSTOWN FIRE COMPANY Mechanicsburg | volunteer | 200 |
| 8 | DAUNTLESS VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY Ebensburg | volunteer | 198 |
| 9 | IRISHTOWN FIRE COMPANY New Oxford | volunteer | 190 |
| 10 | NEW OXFORD COMMUNITY FIRE COMPANY New Oxford | volunteer | 188 |
Pennsylvania operates 2,427 fire departments with 85,879 reported personnel across 67 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 38 career (paid) departments, 1,240 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 67% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 1,140 of these departments (62%) 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. Pennsylvania records approximately 73,800 fires per year, leading to 115 fire deaths and 825 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $802M 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 #13 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.