About the National Fire Department Census

In the spring of 1998, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) convened a Blue Ribbon Panel of prominent members of the U.S. fire service to review the structure, mission and purpose of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and to make recommendations for the future of the Federal fire focus. The Blue Ribbon Panel noted the lack of a comprehensive list of fire departments and baseline data for the definition of the composition, capabilities, and activities of the nation's fire service. Their recommendation was for the USFA to develop a fire department census.

In the fall of 2001, the USFA launched a nationwide campaign for voluntary registration of fire departments by means of direct mailing, coordination with fire service organizations and State offices, referencing existing data sources and conference promotions. By early June 2004 more than 22,800 fire departments had registered with the National Fire Department Census. This is about three-fourths of the total fire departments estimated to be in the United States.

The purpose of the census is to create a national database for use by the fire protection and prevention communities, allied professions, the general public and the USFA. USFA will use the database to conduct special studies, guide program decision-making and to improve direct communication with individual fire departments.

The census database provides a current directory of registered fire departments and includes basic information such as address, department type, web site, and number of stations. The survey also collects information that will be released in summary format only: number of personnel and specialized services.

The USFA is continuously working to encourage more fire departments to participate in the census. The census form can be completed online at this web site or by downloading the census form and faxing it to (301) 447-1049 or by mailing it to:

U.S. Fire Administration
National Fire Data Center, G-111
16825 S Seton AVE
Emmitsburg, MD 21727

Fire departments currently registered with the census are able to update information for their department through the web site. All new submissions and updates are reviewed by the USFA before they are included in the census.

For more information about the USFA National Fire Department Census, please contact us.

Related Topic