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Risk & Response

Alachua County, FL

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 56.5 Relatively Moderate

285,492
Population
8
Departments
34
Stations
58
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
1.11
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
25th highest of 67
Life Safety per 100k
0.39
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
45th highest of 67
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$73.2M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
32nd highest of 67
Property Loss per Resident
$256
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
49th 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 Alachua County, the largest single contributor is Tornado, 36% of the life-safety total.

Alachua County carries an expected 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $73.2M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 67 Florida counties. Nationally, Alachua County ranks 535th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2795th for life safety per 100k residents, 296th for property loss, and 2249th 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 Alachua 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 Alachua County.

Talk to us about Alachua County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

82%
17%
Property (buildings): $73.2M (81.6%)
Life safety: $15.2M (16.9%)
Agriculture: $1.3M (1.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $89,623,332 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
$5.4M
Lightning
$2.7M
Heat Wave
$2.3M
Hurricane
$1.9M
Cold Wave
$1.1M
Strong Wind
$1.0M

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$34.9M
Hurricane
$31.6M
Wildfire
$3.4M
Tornado
$2.3M
Earthquake
$426K
Strong Wind
$371K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Alachua 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

38%
50%
12%
Career: 38% (3)
Combination: 50% (4)
Volunteer: 12% (1)
Residents per Station
8,397
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
11.9
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 8 departments registered in NERIS Public for Alachua County, FL. 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 Alachua 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 8 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Alachua County Fire Rescue Services 285,492 $15.2M Relatively Moderate 19
Gainesville Fire Rescue 148,786 $7.8M Relatively Moderate 9
Newberry Fire Department 23,386 $1.3M Relatively High 1
Melrose Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 19,647 $1.1M Relatively Moderate 1
City Of High Springs Fire Department 17,971 $1.0M Relatively High 1
Lacrosse Fire-Rescue Department 16,933 $922.2K Relatively High 1
Windsor Fire Department 9,778 $623.9K Relatively Moderate 1
Cross Creek Volunteer Fire Department 3,360 $228.2K Relatively Low 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

21.2%
Poverty Rate
15.3%
Age 65+
12.1%
Disability Rate
7.4%
Uninsured
34.5%
Pre-1980 Housing
6.3%
Mobile Homes
8.6%
Vacancy Rate
0.5%
Wood Heat
$67,515
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

21
Last 10 Years
29
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
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