Departments
773
HIFLD registered
State profile
537 departments in the HIFLD registry across 105 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
773
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
16,728
career + volunteer
Counties covered
105
of 105 counties
0% of 537 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 Kansas
54 departments (10%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KANSAS CITY KANSAS FIRE DEPARTMENT Kansas City | other | 799 |
| 2 | WICHITA FIRE DEPARTMENT Wichita | other | 388 |
| 3 | LAWRENCE DOUGLAS COUNTY FIRE AND MEDICAL Lawrence | other | 276 |
| 4 | REPUBLIC COUNTY RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT Belleville | other | 195 |
| 5 | SALINA FIRE DEPARTMENT Salina | other | 181 |
| 6 | LENEXA FIRE DEPARTMENT Lenexa | other | 169 |
| 7 | MONTGOMERY COUNTY RURAL FIRE DISTRICT Independence | other | 148 |
| 8 | OVERLAND PARK FIRE DEPARTMENT Overland Park | other | 145 |
| 9 | MADISON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT Madison | other | 143 |
| 10 | SEDGWICK COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT1 Wichita | other | 136 |
Kansas operates 773 fire departments with 16,728 reported personnel across 105 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 0 career (paid) departments, 1 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 0% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 54 of these departments (10%) 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. Kansas records approximately 20,500 fires per year, leading to 45 fire deaths and 155 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $206M 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 #36 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.