National Fire Department Census Summary Data
- Percentage of Fire Departments Providing Specialized Services
- Number of Registered Fire Departments by State
As of April 1, 2004, there were 22,250 fire departments registered with the National Fire Department Census. This is about 75% of the departments estimated to be in the United States.
These fire departments represent approximately 40,800 fire stations across the country.
The fire departments registered with the census are staffed by approximately 1,036,000 personnel. This figure includes career, volunteer, and paid per call firefighters, civilian staff, and non firefighting personnel.
The majority of the registered departments are located in the Southern and Midwestern states. Figure 1 shows the percentage distribution of fire departments by U.S. Census Bureau region. Less than 1% of the departments are located in the U.S. Territories.
Of the fire departments registered with the census,
- 8% are career
- 5% are mostly career
- 16% are mostly volunteer
- 71% are volunteer
Note: The department type is based on the NFPA definition: Career=100% career firefighters, Mostly Career=51%-99% career firefighters, Mostly Volunteer=1%-50% career firefighters, Volunteer=100% volunteer firefighters
Ninety-five percent of the registered departments are local fire departments which include career, combination, and volunteer fire departments and fire districts. The remaining five percent are comprised of state and federal government fire departments, contract fire departments, private or industrial fire brigades, and transportation authority or airport fire departments.
Percentage of registered fire departments that indicated their department provides a particular specialized service
| Specialized Services Provided | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Extrication | 71.1 |
| Fire/Injury Prevention/Public Education | 55.4 |
| Basic Life Support | 54.4 |
| Wildfire/Urban-Wildland Interface | 53.1 |
| Fire Investigation/Fire Cause Determination | 35.8 |
| Fire Inspection/Code Enforcement | 34.8 |
| EMS Non-Transport Response | 33.6 |
| Technical/Specialized Rescue | 32.7 |
| Departmental (in-house) Training Academy | 26.4 |
| EMS Ambulance Transport | 20.6 |
| Advanced Life Support | 20.6 |
| HAZMAT Team | 15.7 |
| Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program | 14.2 |
| Airport/Aviation | 7.3 |
| Fireboat | 3.4 |
Of the fire departments that provide fire investigation/fire cause determination services, 12% have sworn investigators with power of arrest.
Number of fire departments registered with the census by April 2004 by state
| State | Count |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 621 |
| Alaska | 105 |
| Arizona | 204 |
| Arkansas | 592 |
| California | 725 |
| Colorado | 286 |
| Connecticut | 238 |
| Delaware | 42 |
| District of Columbia | 2 |
| Florida | 428 |
| Georgia | 421 |
| Hawaii | 10 |
| Idaho | 141 |
| Illinois | 949 |
| Indiana | 615 |
| Iowa | 593 |
| Kansas | 432 |
| Kentucky | 564 |
| Louisiana | 309 |
| Maine | 292 |
| Maryland | 221 |
| Massachusetts | 331 |
| Michigan | 846 |
| Minnesota | 608 |
| Mississippi | 300 |
| Missouri | 617 |
| Montana | 224 |
| Nebraska | 301 |
| Nevada | 69 |
| New Hampshire | 189 |
| New Jersey | 597 |
| New Mexico | 223 |
| New York | 1367 |
| North Carolina | 771 |
| North Dakota | 240 |
| Ohio | 1014 |
| Oklahoma | 534 |
| Oregon | 255 |
| Pennsylvania | 1532 |
| Rhode Island | 66 |
| South Carolina | 317 |
| South Dakota | 256 |
| Tennessee | 478 |
| Texas | 1115 |
| Utah | 152 |
| Vermont | 170 |
| Virginia | 424 |
| Washington | 368 |
| West Virginia | 334 |
| Wisconsin | 661 |
| Wyoming | 91 |
| U.S. Territories | 9 |
Percentage of Fire Departments Registered with the Census by Department Type within the State
Table 3 shows the percentage of fire departments registered with the census by department type within state. The department type is based on the NFPA definition: Career=100% career firefighters, Mostly Career=51%-99% career firefighters, Mostly Volunteer=1%-50% career firefighters, and Volunteer=100% volunteer firefighters.
There are 206 fire departments that did not provide the number of personnel. The numbers of fire department personnel are used to determine the department type. For the fire departments where the number of personnel is not provided, the "unknowns" (entries left blank) are distributed in the same proportion as the "knowns".
| State | Volunteer | Mostly Volunteer | Mostly Career | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 80.7 | 8.3 | 3.3 | 7.8 |
| Alaska | 56.3 | 31.1 | 1 | 11.7 |
| Arizona | 32.3 | 28.9 | 20.9 | 17.9 |
| Arkansas | 85.4 | 7.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| California | 28.1 | 32.2 | 15.2 | 24.5 |
| Colorado | 53.5 | 31.1 | 5.6 | 9.8 |
| Connecticut | 61.2 | 24.5 | 3.8 | 10.6 |
| Delaware | 57.1 | 40.5 | 0 | 2.4 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 50 | 50 |
| Florida | 32.6 | 17.5 | 16.8 | 33.3 |
| Georgia | 52.5 | 27 | 7 | 13.5 |
| Hawaii | 10 | 10 | 10 | 70 |
| Idaho | 60.4 | 28.8 | 5.8 | 5 |
| Illinois | 65.6 | 16.3 | 7 | 11.1 |
| Indiana | 73.7 | 14.5 | 2.8 | 9 |
| Iowa | 90.1 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 3.9 |
| Kansas | 78.7 | 10.2 | 4.4 | 6.7 |
| Kentucky | 75.6 | 16 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Louisiana | 54.4 | 34.3 | 3.9 | 7.4 |
| Maine | 74.7 | 21.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Maryland | 63.9 | 23.7 | 3.7 | 8.7 |
| Massachusetts | 25.5 | 30.7 | 20.1 | 23.7 |
| Michigan | 64.8 | 20.4 | 4.7 | 10.1 |
| Minnesota | 87.1 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
| Mississippi | 68.7 | 16.7 | 5.7 | 9 |
| Missouri | 69.3 | 15.7 | 4.9 | 10 |
| Montana | 87.3 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 4.5 |
| Nebraska | 92 | 4.7 | 1 | 2.4 |
| Nevada | 45.5 | 31.8 | 7.6 | 15.2 |
| New Hampshire | 59.6 | 28.7 | 8 | 3.7 |
| New Jersey | 74.9 | 13.8 | 3.4 | 8 |
| New Mexico | 80.2 | 9.5 | 4.1 | 6.3 |
| New York | 89.1 | 5.2 | 1 | 4.7 |
| North Carolina | 65.4 | 25.3 | 4.2 | 5.2 |
| North Dakota | 92.9 | 3.8 | 0 | 3.4 |
| Ohio | 61.8 | 21.5 | 5.8 | 11 |
| Oklahoma | 78.6 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 7.9 |
| Oregon | 40.6 | 48.4 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 89.4 | 7.1 | 0.5 | 3 |
| Rhode Island | 36.9 | 26.2 | 12.3 | 24.6 |
| South Carolina | 53.5 | 29.2 | 9.9 | 7.4 |
| South Dakota | 93.3 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 |
| Tennessee | 72.1 | 14.3 | 6.7 | 6.9 |
| Texas | 71.3 | 14.1 | 4.6 | 10 |
| Utah | 66.9 | 18.2 | 5.4 | 9.5 |
| Vermont | 89.9 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| Virginia | 74.9 | 13.8 | 4.1 | 7.2 |
| Washington | 41.6 | 39.2 | 7.7 | 11.5 |
| West Virginia | 90.2 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 3.7 |
| Wisconsin | 79.5 | 12.4 | 2 | 6.1 |
| Wyoming | 70.3 | 17.6 | 0 | 12.1 |
| U.S. Territories | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 88.9 |
| Total | 70.6 | 16.2 | 4.7 | 8.5 |
Top 25 States by Rank
Tables 4 and 5 show the top 25 states in rank order for volunteer and career fire departments respectively.
Percentage of Registered Volunteer and Mostly Volunteer Fire Departments*
*Based on 22,250 registered departments as of April 2004. Career type is based on NFPA definitions
Please click on the images to enlarge
Percentage of Registered Career and Mostly Career Fire Departments*
*Based on 22,250 registered departments as of April 2004. Career type is based on NFPA definitions
Please click on the images to enlarge
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