As of mid-April 2004, 22,334 fire departments had registered with the National Fire Department Census. The U.S. Fire Administration estimates this number represents about 75% of the departments in the United States (with a working total of about 30,000 fire departments).

The National Fire Department Census Database provides an online address listing of U.S. fire departments registered with USFA as well as some basic information about each fire department. The main purpose of the census, which is ongoing, is to create a national database the federal government can use to study fire departments, guide program decision-making and improve its direct communications with fire departments. Much of the information recorded in the online database, however, is searchable and accessible via the Internet.

So far, the volunteer fire service is making a strong showing. About 87% percent of fire departments registered in the national census are predominantly volunteer (70.6% all volunteer and 16.2% mostly volunteer), according to Alex Furr,  director of the USFA National Fire Data Center. Furr said 8.5% of the registered departments are career departments and 4.7% are mostly career departments. 

Keep in mind that the census is not yet complete, Furr said. The percentages of volunteer vs. career departments may change as more departments list their information in the census database. “Volunteers may have just done a better job of reporting for a while,” she said.

But the percentages track with a National Fire Protection Association report, "U.S Fire Department Profile through 2002," released in October 2003, Furr said.

According to a state-by-state breakdown, Delaware has the highest percentage of volunteer or mostly volunteer fire departments, with a total of 97.6%, followed by North Dakota (96.7%) and South Dakota (96.4%). Hawaii registered the lowest percentage of volunteer departments, with a total of 20%.

The NFPA’s report also shows the total number of volunteer firefighters in the nation is up. Nationwide the number of volunteer firefighters increased 4.1% from 2001 to 2002, and was the highest it has been since 1995.  According to the report, of the total of 1,108,250 firefighters in the United States in 2002, 816,600 (74%) were volunteer and 291,650 (26%) were career.

The numbers reflect a reversal in a downward trend seen in the amount of volunteers in since 1983, when there were 884,600 nationwide.

Leaders of organizations supporting the volunteer fire service are happy to see the numbers. “I’m excited,” said Larry Curl, chairman of Volunteer and Combination Chief Officers Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “The reality is volunteerism is not dead. I’m not sure that we’re in the dying mode that everybody wants us to be in.”

Of course, many volunteer fire departments still struggle to recruit and retain members, Curl noted, “but it’s good to know that 87% of the fire departments in America are all volunteer or mostly volunteer.” If you add the combination departments that are mostly career, it shows strength in the numbers of volunteers,  he said.

“If we could ever organize the volunteers to stand up for their rights and for what they believe in, it would be a very powerful group,” said Curl. 

Commenting on the NFPA report, National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman Philip Stittleburg said he was encouraged by the new figures, but volunteer fire departments still need to work hard at retention and recruitment to reverse the trend that has been chipping at volunteer ranks for the last 20 years. "The NVFC encourages firefighters to work with their elected officials at all levels of government to implement meaningful recruitment and retention programs," Stittleburg said.

Furr said the USFA was preparing to release more details from the fire National Fire Department Census. In the meantime, visitors to the USFA Web site can search the census databases for a variety of information about departments that are registered.  For example, searches can pull up departments registered by state, name, type and other pertinent information.

Of course, the USFA is encouraging 100% participation in the census and the more accurate the information, the better. To check your department’s listing, visit the National Fire Department Census at www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/fdonline/. If your department is not listed or if the information is incorrect, follow the link to the help page.

As it happens, the International Association of Fire Chiefs on Wednesday issued a “news alert,” advising fire department officials not to participate in a national fire department survey from a company called Explore Information Services, citing security reasons. IAFC members have reported receiving mailed surveys from the company, asking for detailed information about fire departments, fire stations, water supply etc., that it said was going to be used to create a “national fire station database” of information to assist the federal government and insurance organizations.

While the IAFC investigates Explore Information Services, it advises fire departments not to respond to the Explore Information Services Survey. ”Until we receive specific verification of the operational security of this information, we recommend not completing the survey,” the IAFC said.

That private company survey, however, is not to be confused with the USFA effort, which is being conducted under the auspices of Department of Homeland Security.

The fire departments registered with the census represent some 41,000 fire stations and more than 1 million personnel, including career, volunteer and paid-per-call firefighters, civilian staff, and non-firefighting volunteers