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Risk & Response

Richland County, SC

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 52.0 Relatively Moderate

422,117
Population
2
Departments
40
Stations
98
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
2.62
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
6th highest of 46
Life Safety per 100k
0.62
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
41st highest of 46
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$101.5M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
7th highest of 46
Property Loss per Resident
$240
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
31st highest of 46

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 Richland County, the largest single contributor is Inland Flooding, 26% of the life-safety total.

Richland County carries an expected 3 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $101.5M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 46 South Carolina counties. Nationally, Richland County ranks 209th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2346th for life safety per 100k residents, 212th for property loss, and 2401st 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 Richland 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 Richland County.

Talk to us about Richland County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

74%
26%
Property (buildings): $101.5M (73.7%)
Life safety: $35.9M (26.0%)
Agriculture: $408K (0.3%)

Total expected annual loss: $137,805,062 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)

Inland Flooding
$9.2M
Tornado
$6.4M
Heat Wave
$6.0M
Cold Wave
$4.0M
Strong Wind
$2.9M
Earthquake
$2.8M

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$64.8M
Hurricane
$17.8M
Earthquake
$8.4M
Tornado
$6.1M
Ice Storm
$2.8M
Hail
$907K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Richland 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

100%
Combination: 100% (2)
Residents per Station
10,553
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
9.5
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 2 departments registered in NERIS Public for Richland County, SC. 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 Richland 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 2 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Columbia-Richland Fire Department 131,932 $12.0M Relatively Moderate 35
Irmo Fire District 41,799 $4.6M Relatively Moderate 5
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

17.2%
Poverty Rate
14.1%
Age 65+
14.3%
Disability Rate
8.7%
Uninsured
37.7%
Pre-1980 Housing
4.5%
Mobile Homes
10.5%
Vacancy Rate
0.2%
Wood Heat
$68,823
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

15
Last 10 Years
21
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