Departments
3
HIFLD registry
State profile
District of Columbia Fire Departments 3 departments
3 fire departments in the HIFLD registry across 1 counties, staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
- 3
- Departments
- #50 of 51
- Annual fires rank
- #2 of 51
- Death-rate rank
- 0%
- Volunteer departments
3 departments · 5,200 fires/yr
District of Columbia has 3 fire departments in the HIFLD registry across 1 counties, with about 5,200 annual fires and 4 fire deaths/year (USFA). 0% of departments are volunteer. Personnel and EMS fields come from HIFLD station records.
- Annual fires rank #50 of 51
- Fire-death rank #2 of 51
- 0% volunteer departments
State fire-service snapshot
A single read of the registry, reported staffing, and annual fire-loss measures available for District of Columbia.
Total personnel
57
career + volunteer
Counties covered
1
statewide registry coverage
Volunteer departments
0%
of registered departments
Annual fires
5,200
Lowest annual fire volume
Fire deaths / year
4
USFA annual estimate
Annual property loss
$58.0M
reported annual total
Death-rate rank
#2 of 51
Among the safest states
Volunteer share of departments 0.0%
0% of 3 departments rely primarily on volunteer crews, a strong indicator of rural geography and tax base.
District of Columbia vs all jurisdictions by HIFLD department inventory
Where this state's registered fire-department count sits among every state and territory on PlainFireData
3 54th of 55 higher than 1 of 55 jurisdictions
States and territories, banded by HIFLD-registered fire department count
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more jurisdictions. 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 Open Data / USFA state aggregates · 2026-09-06
Department Type Breakdown
1
Career (Paid)
0
Volunteer
0
Combination
1 of 1 listed department profiles (100%) provide EMS services.
What This Data Tells You About Fire Services in District of Columbia
District of Columbia operates 3 fire departments with 57 reported personnel across 1 counties. The organizational mix among the 1 department profiles listed on this page (station-level and training-facility rows excluded) is: 1 career (paid), 0 volunteer, and 0 combination. Volunteer staffing sits at 0% of departments statewide, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 1 of the listed profiles (100%) 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. District of Columbia records approximately 5,200 fires per year, leading to 4 fire deaths and 65 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $58.0M 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 #2 of 51 among peers (fire-death rate, safest first) 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 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.
All Fire Departments in District of Columbia
Walter Reed Army Medical Center Fire and Emergency Services-Dod
Washington · District Of Columbia
career EMS
Counties in DC
Related Resources
Data from HIFLD Open Data and USFA published statistics. Coverage may vary.
Nationwide states with similar fire-service scale
Two USFA/HIFLD-derived peer sets for District of Columbia, each a different nationwide metric so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment (county and department links above stay in-state).
Similar annual fire incidents
Nearest other states by USFA annual fire totals (5,200 here).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFireData
Federal data sources for this state profile
- USFA National Fire Department Registry (FEMA) - state-level department counts and personnel rollups.
- HIFLD Fire Stations (DHS/CISA) - station-level inventory by FIPS state code.
- FEMA AFG Awards by State - Assistance to Firefighters Grants by recipient state.
Every staffing, station, grant, and fire-incident figure on PlainFireData is rendered from HIFLD (DHS/CISA), USFA, and FEMA AFG public records, no number is typed in by an editor. This District of Columbia profile rolls HIFLD registry departments, USFA state fire statistics, and FEMA AFG awards for the same FIPS state. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2026.