Chicago, Illinois, has the ninth highest demand for firefighters in the US, according to new study

St. Louis, Minnesota, tops the list with the highest demand for firefighters. Chicago, Illinois, places ninth in the ranking. Miami Beach, Florida, has the lowest demand for firefighters

New research has revealed the US cities with the highest demand for firefighters, with St. Louis, Minnesota, taking the top spot.

Real estate investors specializing in fire damage at Fire Cash Buyers analyzed data from the Firehouse 2021 National Run Survey to determine the number of fire calls in various cities across the US; the figures were weighed against the population to determine the final ranking.

First on the list is St. Louis, Minnesota, with 31,548 calls per 100,000 residents; this equates to a staggering 95,141 fire calls in total.

Second place is Longview, Texas. The city’s fire department received 14,658 fire calls, or 17,955 per 100,000 people.

Orland Firefighters battle demonstration fire at OFPD Open House event — Orland Firefighters battle a demonstration fire at OFPD Open House event

Leesburg, Florida, takes the third position. There were 14,163 fire calls per 100,000 citizens, which is equal to 3,823 overall.

Salisbury, Maryland, takes the fourth spot, with 11,616 fire calls per 100,000 residents; the city’s fire department witnessed 3,839 calls in total.

In the fifth position is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There were 14,843 fire calls made to the department altogether, which works out at 10,778 per 100,000 people.

Cities with the highest demand for firefighters

Rank	City	Number of fire calls per 100k
1	St. Louis, MO	31,548
2	Longview, TX	17,955
3	Leesburg, FL	14,163
4	Salisbury, MD	11,616
5	Cedar Rapids, IA	10,778
6	Cocoa, FL	10,435
7	Boardman, OR	9,222
8	Rockwall, TX	8,895
9	Chicago, IL	8,246
10	Brockton, MA	7,677

On the other end of the scale, Miami Beach, Florida, ranks first as the city with the lowest demand for firefighters. There were only 46 calls in total, or 55 per 100,000 citizens.

Euless, Texas, is in second place, with 95 fire calls per 100,000 residents; the city’s fire department received just 58 calls altogether.

Ranking third is Plano, Texas. Plano’s fire department witnessed 378 calls in total, which equates to 132 per 100,000 people.

Next on the list is Surprise, Arizona, with 139 fire calls per 100,000 citizens. Overall, the city’s fire department experienced 199 fire calls.

Fifth place is yet another Texas city, Frisco. There were 295 fire calls in total, or 147 per 100,000 residents.

Cities with the lowest demand for firefighters

Rank	City	Number of fire calls per 100k
1	Miami Beach, FL	55
2	Euless, TX	95
3	Plano, TX	132
4	Surprise, AZ	139
5	Frisco, TX	147
6	Sheboygan, WI	174
7	Virginia Beach, VA	183
8	Chandler, AZ	192
9	Prescott, AZ	194
10	Chesapeake, VA	198

A spokesperson from Fire Cash Buyers has commented on the findings: “It’s interesting to see that many of the top ten cities in the ranking are not situated in states that experience the most wildfires, like California and Nevada, suggesting that many of these calls were a result of accidental house fires, such as from cooking.

“Regardless of where your city ranks, all citizens across the US must understand the importance of fire safety and take preventative measures, such as ensuring electrical cords are in good condition, never leaving the kitchen unattended when cooking, and testing smoke alarms on a monthly basis.”

This information was provided by Fire Cash Buyers, who cover the buying and selling of fire damaged homes across the United States, from Florida to Puerto Rico.  

Methodology

Data on the number of fire calls that were received by various fire departments and cities across the US was obtained from the Firehouse 2021 National Run Survey.

These figures were weighed against the population to determine the final ranking.

Cities with the highest demand for firefighters

Rank	Fire Department	Population	No. of Fire Calls	Fire Calls per 100k
1	St. Louis, MO	301,578	95,141	31,548
2	Longview, TX	81,638	14,658	17,955
3	Leesburg, FL	27,000	3,824	14,163
4	Salisbury, MD	33,050	3,839	11,616
5	Cedar Rapids, IA	137,710	14,843	10,778
6	Cocoa, FL	19,041	1,987	10,435
7	Boardman, OR	3,828	353	9,222
8	Rockwall, TX	47,251	4,203	8,895
9	Chicago, IL	2,746,388	226,465	8,246
10	Brockton, MA	105,643	8,110	7,677

Cities with the lowest demand for firefighters

Rank	Fire Department	Population	No. of Fire Calls	Fire Calls per 100k
1	Miami Beach, FL	82,890	46	55
2	Euless, TX	61,032	58	95
3	Plano, TX	285,494	378	132
4	Surprise, AZ	143,148	199	139
5	Frisco, TX	200,509	295	147
6	Sheboygan, WI	49,929	87	174
7	Virginia Beach, VA	459,470	839	183
8	Chandler, AZ	275,987	529	192
9	Prescott, AZ	45,827	89	194
10	Chesapeake, VA	249,422	495	198

Click here to subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania's Columns

Author
Recent Posts

Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter