Departments
511
HIFLD registered
State profile
482 departments in the HIFLD registry across 55 counties — staffing, stations, EMS coverage and state fire statistics.
Departments
511
HIFLD registered
Total personnel
11,756
career + volunteer
Counties covered
55
of 55 counties
70% of 482 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 West Virginia
300 departments (62%) provide EMS services.
| # | Department | Type | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHARLESTON FIRE DEPARTMENT Charleston | career | 203 |
| 2 | HUNTINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT Huntington | career | 99 |
| 3 | WHEELING FIRE DEPARTMENT Wheeling | career | 97 |
| 4 | FRIENDSHIP FIRE COMPANY Harpers Ferry | volunteer | 95 |
| 5 | FORT ASHBY VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY Fort Ashby | volunteer | 92 |
| 6 | BRUCETON MILLS-BRANDONVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Bruceton Mills | volunteer | 89 |
| 7 | BACK CREEK VALLEY VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Hedgesville | volunteer | 75 |
| 8 | GREAT CACAPON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Great Cacapon | volunteer | 75 |
| 9 | CITY OF WEIRTON FIRE DEPARTMENT Weirton | volunteer | 71 |
| 10 | BERKELEY SPRINGS VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Berkeley Springs | volunteer | 70 |
West Virginia operates 511 fire departments with 11,756 reported personnel across 55 counties. The organizational mix is a strong signal of how the state funds and delivers fire protection: 16 career (paid) departments, 349 volunteer departments, and 0 combination departments appear in the HIFLD registry. Volunteer staffing sits at 70% of departments, a figure that typically correlates with population density, rural geography, and local tax capacity. EMS delivery is meaningful for residents: 300 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. West Virginia records approximately 15,700 fires per year, leading to 55 fire deaths and 139 injuries annually. Reported property loss averages about $143M 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 #51 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.