Report: NFPA's "U.S. Fire Department Profile"
Author: Michael J. Karter, Jr. and Gary P. Stein
Issued: October 2012
This report includes statistics through 2011 on the numbers and characteristics of U.S. of fire departments and firefighters. It also includes information on the number of fire stations, pumpers and ladders nationwide, rates of usage of such equipment by community size, and total national direct expenditures on local fire protection.
Introduction
NFPA estimates that there were approximately 1,100,450 firefighters in the U.S. in 2011. Of the total number of firefighters 344,050 or 31% were career firefighters and 756,400 (69%) were volunteer firefighters. Most of the career firefighters (73%) are in communities that protect 25,000 or more people. Most of the volunteer firefighters (94%) are in departments that protect fewer than 25,000 people. There are an estimated 30,145 fire departments in the U.S. Of these, 2,550 departments are all career, 1,865 mostly career, 5,530 are mostly volunteer and 20,200 are all volunteer. In the U.S., 13,555 or 45% of departments provide EMS service, 4,590 departments or 15% provide EMS service and advance life support, while 12,000 departments or 40% provide no EMS support.
