Key takeaways
- FDNY is the largest fire department in the US, with more than 17,000 employees, including about 11,000 firefighters and fire officers, and 218 firehouses.
- CAL FIRE is the largest state fire agency, with 12,522 personnel and a $4.2 billion budget in 2024-25.
- The US has about 5,748 primary and secondary 911 call centers (PSAPs), and NENA estimates about 240 million 911 calls are made each year.
- Departments count staff and calls differently, so each figure below is labeled with what it measures and its year.
Largest fire departments
Large US fire departments with the personnel, stations, call volume and budget each reports, with the year where given. Search by department, city or state.
Showing all 32 departments
| Department | Personnel | Stations | Calls or incidents | Budget | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY)City · New York, NY | More than 17,000 employees, about 11,000 firefighters | 218 firehouses, 39 EMS stations | More than 1 million responses a year | $2.2 billion (FY2022) | FDNY |
| CAL FIREState · California | 12,522 total | 240 owned plus 332 under contract | — | $4.2 billion (2024-25) | Wikipedia |
| Chicago Fire DepartmentCity · Chicago, IL | 5,141 budgeted positions (FY2026) | 96 | — | $797 million (FY2026 proposed) | Better Government Association |
| Los Angeles County Fire DepartmentCounty · Los Angeles County, CA | About 3,000 fire personnel (2021) | 177 | About 791,600 incidents (2023) | $1.44 billion (2021) | Los Angeles Almanac |
| Houston Fire DepartmentCity · Houston, TX | More than 4,000 | 94 | 403,948 calls a year | — | Houston Fire Department |
| Los Angeles Fire DepartmentCity · Los Angeles, CA | 3,246 uniformed, 353 civilian (2024) | 106 | 232,266 calls (2024) | $854 million (FY2023-24) | Wikipedia |
| Miami-Dade Fire RescueCounty · Miami-Dade County, FL | 3,244 positions (FY2026-27 proposed) | 73 | — | $927.9 million (FY2026-27 proposed) | Miami-Dade County budget |
| Philadelphia Fire DepartmentCity · Philadelphia, PA | — | — | 500,324 runs (FY2023) | — | City of Philadelphia |
| Phoenix Fire DepartmentCity · Phoenix, AZ | 2,018 employees | 60 | 242,067 calls (2024) | $561.7 million (FY2024-25) | Wikipedia |
| Orange County Fire AuthorityFire authority · Orange County, CA | — | 78 | — | — | OCFA |
| Palm Beach County Fire RescueCounty · Palm Beach County, FL | 1,837 full-time positions | 51 | 157,474 calls (FY2024) | $778 million (FY2025) | PBCFR fact sheet |
| San Antonio Fire DepartmentCity · San Antonio, TX | About 1,800 (2019) | 54 | 203,309 calls (2019) | $318.6 million (2019) | Wikipedia |
| Jacksonville Fire and Rescue DepartmentCity-county · Jacksonville, FL | About 1,800 | 65 | About 176,000 calls (2022) | About $356 million (FY2022) | JFRD |
| Dallas Fire-RescueCity · Dallas, TX | 1,939 employees (2017) | 59 | — | — | Wikipedia |
| Columbus Division of FireCity · Columbus, OH | 1,700 sworn, 300+ civilian | 35 | — | — | City of Columbus |
| Memphis Fire ServicesCity · Memphis, TN | Over 1,700 firefighters | 57 | — | — | City of Memphis |
| DC Fire and EMS DepartmentDistrict of Columbia | About 1,600 firefighter-EMTs plus about 300 paramedics | — | — | — | DC FEMS |
| Baltimore City Fire DepartmentCity · Baltimore, MD | More than 1,600 | — | More than 235,000 calls a year | — | BCFD |
| Fairfax County Fire and Rescue DepartmentCounty · Fairfax County, VA | Nearly 1,400 uniformed, about 180 civilian | 39 | — | — | Fairfax County |
| San Diego Fire-Rescue DepartmentCity · San Diego, CA | 949 uniformed fire, 98 lifeguards, 246 civilian | 52 fire, 9 lifeguard | — | — | City of San Diego |
| Hillsborough County Fire RescueCounty · Hillsborough County, FL | More than 1,300 | 48 | More than 140,000 calls a year | — | Hillsborough County |
| Austin Fire DepartmentCity · Austin, TX | More than 1,300 | 54 | More than 100,000 a year | — | City of Austin |
| Detroit Fire DepartmentCity · Detroit, MI | 1,309 FTE (FY2026) | — | Over 150,000 a year | $175.1 million (FY2026 proposed) | Detroit City Council |
| Fort Worth Fire DepartmentCity · Fort Worth, TX | 1,049 uniformed, 71 civilian | 45 | More than 110,000 a year | — | City of Fort Worth |
| Seattle Fire DepartmentCity · Seattle, WA | 993 uniformed, 94 civilian | 33 | 197,926 calls (2025) | — | SFD 2025 annual report |
| Montgomery County Fire and Rescue ServiceCounty · Montgomery County, MD | Nearly 2,700 career and volunteer | — | Over 120,000 a year | About $267 million a year | MCFRS |
| Prince George's County Fire/EMS DepartmentCounty · Prince George's County, MD | — | 45 | More than 157,000 a year | — | Prince George's County |
| Clark County Fire DepartmentCounty · Clark County, NV | 790 career suppression positions | 33 full-time, 10 volunteer | 122,127 incidents (2025) | — | Clark County |
| Riverside County Fire DepartmentCounty · Riverside County, CA | — | — | 183,482 incidents (2021) | — | NBC Palm Springs |
| Broward Sheriff's Office Fire RescueCounty · Broward County, FL | More than 890 | 25 | More than 60,000 (FY2024-25) | — | Caribbean National Weekly |
| Las Vegas Fire & RescueCity · Las Vegas, NV | 745 employees (2022) | 21 | — | — | City of Las Vegas |
| Sacramento Metropolitan Fire DistrictFire district · Sacramento County, CA | — | — | — | — | Metro Fire |
911 nationally
- The US had 5,748 primary and secondary public safety answering points (PSAPs) as of February 2021, according to NENA.
- NENA estimates about 240 million 911 calls are made in the US each year.
- States reporting to the federal National 911 Program counted 209,024,988 calls in 2020 from 44 states (National 911 Annual Report).
Large 911 and emergency communications centers
Large 911 centers with the call volume and staffing each reports. Centers count calls differently — some include non-emergency and other agencies' calls — so these aren't ranked.
Showing all 10 centers
| Center | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas 911 Call CenterDallas, TX | 2,048,116 911 calls | FY2016-17 | Dallas City Council briefing |
| Miami-Dade Police Communications BureauMiami-Dade County, FL | Over 2 million calls a year, over 60% 911 | Current | Miami-Dade Police |
| Las Vegas Metropolitan Police CommunicationsLas Vegas, NV | Nearly 2 million calls a year; about 260 staff | 2026 | FOX5 Vegas |
| Chicago Office of Emergency Management and CommunicationsChicago, IL | Nearly 20,000 calls a day (911 and 311) | 2024 | OEMC budget statement |
| San Antonio Police 9-1-1 Call CenterSan Antonio, TX | 1,421,622 911 calls | FY2023 | San Antonio City Auditor |
| Baltimore City Fire communicationsBaltimore, MD | About 1.4 million fire and EMS calls a year | FY2026 budget | Baltimore budget slides |
| Orange County Sheriff's Office CommunicationsOrange County, FL | About 1.4 million total calls; 686,193 911 calls | 2019 | OCSO |
| Atlanta E-911 Communications CenterAtlanta, GA | About 1.3 million calls | 2023 | FOX 5 Atlanta |
| Houston Emergency CenterHouston, TX | About 6,000 911 calls a day | 2020 | Houston City Council |
| Fairfax County Department of Public Safety CommunicationsFairfax County, VA | About 400,000 911 and 420,000 non-emergency calls a year | Current | Fairfax County |
Selling to fire departments and 911 centers
Fire, EMS and 911 buyers are mission-driven and risk-averse. They buy apparatus, equipment, software and services through budgets, grants and cooperative contracts, and they lean heavily on what peer agencies use.
- Know the chain of command. Chiefs, deputy chiefs, fleet and logistics, training, EMS and IT each own different purchases; 911 centers often report to police, a separate department or a regional authority.
- Follow grants. FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grants, state 911 fees and Next Generation 911 funding pay for many purchases.
- Use peer proof. References from similar departments carry more weight than marketing.
- Plan for long cycles. Apparatus and dispatch systems are often bought years ahead through capital plans.
See our public safety market page and largest police departments.
Sources
- FDNY overview
- NENA 9-1-1 Statistics
- National 911 Program, National 911 Annual Report (2020 data)
- Each department's or city's report, linked in the tables above
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