Arborlook
Arborlook Insights
Risk & Response

Walker County, AL

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 71.7 Relatively High

64,841
Population
23
Departments
31
Stations
20
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.68
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
22nd highest of 67
Life Safety per 100k
1.05
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
28th highest of 67
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$25.3M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
20th highest of 67
Property Loss per Resident
$391
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
15th highest of 67

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Walker County, the largest single contributor is Tornado, 33% of the life-safety total.

Walker County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $25.3M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 67 Alabama counties. Nationally, Walker County ranks 837th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1647th for life safety per 100k residents, 718th for property loss, and 1276th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Walker County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Walker County.

Talk to us about Walker County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

73%
27%
Property (buildings): $25.3M (72.7%)
Life safety: $9.3M (26.8%)
Agriculture: $183K (0.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $34,843,510 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Tornado
$3.0M
Cold Wave
$2.8M
Heat Wave
$1.4M
Strong Wind
$963K
Lightning
$558K
Earthquake
$393K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$19.3M
Tornado
$4.3M
Earthquake
$1.3M
Strong Wind
$115K
Hail
$101K
Hurricane
$71K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Walker County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

9%
9%
83%
Career: 9% (2)
Combination: 9% (2)
Volunteer: 83% (19)
Residents per Station
2,092
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
47.8
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 23 departments registered in NERIS Public for Walker County, AL. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Walker County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 23 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Rex Lake Fire District 524,957 $59.7M Relatively Moderate 0
Gardendale Fire And Rescue 503,455 $56.7M Relatively Moderate 3
Lipscomb Fire & Rescue 503,455 $56.7M Relatively Moderate 0
Curry Volunteer Fire & Rescue 50,440 $7.0M Relatively High 3
Saragossa Volunteer Fire Department 27,834 $4.1M Relatively High 2
Boldo Volunteer Fire Department 18,775 $2.7M Relatively High 2
Jasper Fire Department 15,015 $2.3M Relatively High 3
Barney Volunteer Fire Department 12,087 $1.4M Relatively Moderate 1
City Of Cordova Volunteer Fire Department 8,555 $1.2M Relatively High 1
Oakman Volunteer Fire Department 6,931 $1.1M Very High 1
Mount Zion Fire & Rescue 4,922 $724.2K Relatively High 2
Argo Area Volunteer Fire Department 5,089 $612.2K Relatively Moderate 1
City Of Dora Fire And Rescue Service 5,185 $584.8K Very High 1
Sumiton Fire And Rescue Service 2,471 $432.6K Relatively High 1
Parrish Fire & Rescue 3,083 $424.0K Relatively High 2
Carbon Hill Volunteer Fire Department 3,086 $420.7K Very High 2
Yerkwood Volunteer Fire Department 2,327 $273.7K Relatively High 1
Copeland Ferry Fire Rescue 1,670 $219.5K Relatively High 0
Copeland Ferry Pumpkin Center Fire Department 1,670 $219.5K Relatively High 1
Empire Volunteer Fire Department 1,365 $206.7K Relatively Moderate 1
Thach Volunteer Fire Department 1,404 $206.6K Relatively High 1
Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department 668 $91.0K Very High 1
Warrior River Fire Department 762 $90.7K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

18.5%
Poverty Rate
19.7%
Age 65+
22.2%
Disability Rate
9.6%
Uninsured
46.4%
Pre-1980 Housing
27.1%
Mobile Homes
16.4%
Vacancy Rate
1.2%
Wood Heat
$58,884
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

7
Last 10 Years
16
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo