Departments
969
HIFLD registered
State profile
952 departments in the HIFLD registry across 92 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
969
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
21,919
career + volunteer
Counties covered
92
of 92 counties
55% of 952 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 Indiana
700 departments (74%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | INDIANAPOLIS FIRE DEPARTMENT Indianapolis | career | 819 |
| 2 | GARY FIRE DEPARTMENT Gary | career | 355 |
| 3 | EVANSVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT Evansville | career | 282 |
| 4 | HAMMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT Hammond | career | 185 |
| 5 | CARMEL FIRE DEPARTMENT Carmel | career | 159 |
| 6 | INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FIRE DEPARTMENT Indianapolis | volunteer | 154 |
| 7 | LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT / CASTLETON Indianapolis | career | 147 |
| 8 | LAFAYETTE FIRE DEPARTMENT Lafayette | career | 144 |
| 9 | SELLERSBURG VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Sellersburg | volunteer | 142 |
| 10 | LAKE STATION FIRE DEPARTMENT Lake Station | volunteer | 136 |
Indiana operates 969 fire departments with 21,919 reported personnel across 92 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 64 career (paid) departments, 526 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 55% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 700 of these departments (74%) 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. Indiana records approximately 43,600 fires per year, leading to 94 fire deaths and 372 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $483M 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 #32 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.