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Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

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Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services
Agency overview
Annual calls~134,000
Employees
  • ~1,270 career
  • ~1165 volunteer
  • ~100 support staff
Annual budget~$262,000,000
StaffingCombination
Fire chiefCorey Smedley
EMS levelALS and BLS
IAFF1664
Motto
  • French: Gardez Bien
  • (in English) Guard Well
Facilities and equipment
Divisions4
Battalions5
Stations39
Engines35
Trucks15
Rescues6
Ambulances45
HAZMAT2
Light and air2
Website
MontgomeryCountyMD.gov/MCFRS
https://www.iafflocal1664.org/

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), officially the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS), is the public safety agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Montgomery County, Maryland. The services are provided by a combination of paid county personnel and volunteer members of the various independent, non-profit volunteer fire and rescue corporations located throughout the county.

History

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MCFRS personnel with FBI agents at the Pentagon a day after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Recruit Class 1 for MCFRS began on 2/29/1988.

The MCFRS went to Oklahoma City in 1995 to conduct USAR operations after the Oklahoma City bombing.[1]

In 2001, the MCFRS went to Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia aboard RideOn buses to assist in urban search and rescue (USAR) efforts immediately after the September 11 attacks.[1]

In 2004, the County Council passed legislation to reorganize the Fire & Rescue Service by placing all personnel, career and volunteer, under the command of a single fire chief.[2][3] However, actual services are delivered most commonly from career personal operating out of volunteer owned stations across the county with volunteers serving in the evening hours and on weekends to increase manpower during periods of high call volume. This system is due to the population size of the county and need for round the clock services. The county uses the standard incident command system to coordinate the efforts of career and volunteer personnel at the scenes of emergencies.

Montgomery County also works closely with and has mutual aid agreements with DC Fire & EMS, Fairfax County Fire & Rescue, Frederick County Fire & Rescue, Howard County Fire & Rescue, and Prince George's County Fire/EMS.


In April 2020, MCFRS implemented a COVID-19 Surge Plan which included the staffing of more BLS ambulances, as well as moving ALS providers from AFRA and medic units to chase cars. This, paired with a continuous Blue Alert, which goes in effect when an EMS jurisdictional system is temporarily taxed to its limits in providing pre hospital care and ambulance transportation due to extraordinary situations that contribute to high demand for ambulance service, and decontamination teams stationed at each of the main hospitals in the county enabled proper patient distribution and lessoned the burden on the system. The Plan was ended in June 2020.

On June 30, 2023, Fire Chief Scott Goldstein left MCFRS for a fire and rescue department in Cowlitz County, Washington. Goldstein had been chief since June 2015.[4] On July 9, 2024 Montgomery County Council confirmed Corey Smedley appointment as Chief of MCFRS.[5]

Ranks

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Fire Chief ,Division Chief ,Assistant Chief ,Battalion Chief ,Captain ,Lieutenant ,Master Firefighter ,Firefighter 3 ,Firefighter 2 ,Firefighter 1 ,Recruit ,Candidate

Stations and Apparatus

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The county is broken into five battalions, with a total of 37 fire stations and 2 rescue squads.

Station Company Battalion Engine Company or Paramedic Engine Company Special Service Units EMS Units Other units
1 Silver Spring VFD 1st Battalion PE701 M701, A701, A701B, DCN701
2 Takoma Park VFD 1st Battalion PE702, E702B A702, A702B
3 Rockville VFD 3rd Battalion PE703, PE703B AT703, RS703 M703, A703, A703B, A703C, ALS703 SU703, UT703B, UT703C
4 Sandy Spring VFD 4th Battalion PE704 A704 W704
5 Kensington VFD - Old Town 4th Battalion PE705, PE705B A705, A705B, B705, CT705,UT705
6 Bethesda FD 2nd Battalion PE706 T706 A706
7* Chevy Chase FD 2nd Battalion PE707 A/M707 (BCCRS Staffed) HM707, UT707
8 Gaithersburg-Washington Grove VFD 3rd Battalion PE708 PAT708 M708, A708, A708B, A708C, ALS708 CT708, B708, UT708, UT708B, UTV708, BUTV708
9 Hyattstown VFD 5th Battalion PRE709, RBE709 B709, B709B, W709, UT709, UTV709
10* Cabin John Park VFD 2nd Battalion PE710, E710B T710 A710, ALS710 SW710, SW710B, UT710
11 Glen Echo FD 2nd Battalion PE711 A711, A711B, ALS711 UT711,

UTV711

12 Hillandale VFD 1st Battalion PE712 M712, A712 BC701, UT712, UTV712
13 Damascus VFD 5th Battalion PE713, E713B,

BE713

M713, A713 B713, W713
14* Upper Montgomery County VFD 5th Battalion PRE714, BE714 M714,A714 UT714, UTV714, B714, CT714, BT714, SW714, W714
15 Burtonsville VFD 1st Battalion PE715,

PE715B

T715, RS715 M715, A715 B715, UT715
16 Silver Spring VFD - Four Corners 1st Battalion PE716 T716 A716 MAU716
17 Laytonsville VFD 5th Battalion PE717, EW717, BE717 RS717 A717 B717, CT717, W717
18 Kensington VFD - Glenmont 4th Battalion PE718 AT718 A718 CP718
19 Silver Spring VFD - Montgomery Hills 1st Battalion PE719 AT719 EMS701
20* Bethesda FD - Midtown Bethesda 2nd Battalion PE720 BC702
21 Kensington VFD - Viers Mill Village 4th Battalion PE721 A721
22 Kingsview 5th Battalion PE722, BE722 A722 MAB722, MCSU722, W722, B722
23* Rockville VFD - Twinbrook 3rd Battalion PE723 AT723 M723, A723
24 Hillandale VFD - Colesville 1st Battalion PE724, E724B AT724 A724,A724B B724
25* Kensington VFD - Aspen Hill 4th Battalion PE725 T725 ALS725, A725, A725B, BC704, EMS704, SU725, BT725
26 Bethesda FD - North Bethesda 2nd Battalion PE726 A/M726 (BCCRS staffed) MAB726, MCSU726
27 Public Safety Training Academy E727, E727B T727 CP727
28* Gaithersburg-Washington Grove VFD - Derwood 3rd Battalion PE728 A728 HM728
29 Germantown VFD 5th Battalion PE729, PE729B RS729 M729, A729 BT729, SU729
30* Cabin John Park VFD - Potomac 2nd Battalion PE730 A730 W730, B730, SW730, SW730B, UT730
31* Rockville VFD - Quince Orchard 3rd Battalion PE731 T731 M731 BT731, W731, TR700, TR700B, SU731, UT731, UTV731
32 Travilah 3rd Battalion PE732 A732, M732 BC703, EMS703, SA700, DC700, CP732
33 Rockville VFD - Potomac 3rd Battalion PE733 A733 ,A733B B733, CT733, MAU733
34 Milestone 5th Battalion PE734 T734 A734 DCN734, BC705,EMS705
35 Clarksburg 5th Battalion PE735 AT735 A735 W735
40 Sandy Spring VFD - Olney 4th Battalion PE740 AT740 A740 B740, BT740, CT740, UT740, UTV740, BUTV740
Rescue Co. 1 Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad 2nd Battalion RS741, RS741B M741, A741B, A/M741C, A/M741D, ALS741 UT741
Rescue Co. 2 Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad 4th Battalion RS742, RS742B A742, A742B, A742C, A742D, ALS742, ALS742B UT742, UTV742

Stations 36 and 39 are not listed as they are not in service as of September 2024

* Denotes Special Operations Station

  • Stations 7, 28, 25 - Hazmat Response Team
  • Stations 10, 30, 14 - Swift Water Rescue Team
  • Stations 25, 29, 31 - Technical Rescue Team (TRT)
  • Station 23 - Emergency Response Team (ERT)

Abbreviations:

  • A - Ambulance
  • ALS - Paramedic Chase Vehicle
  • AT - Aerial Tower
  • B - Brush
  • BC - Battalion Chief
  • BE - Brush Engine
  • BS - Boat Support
  • BT - Boat
  • BUTV - Brush Utility Task Vehicle
  • CT - Canteen
  • CP - Command Post
  • DC - Duty Operations Chief
  • E - Engine
  • EMS - EMS Duty Officer
  • EW - Engine Tanker
  • HM - HazMat Unit
  • M - Medic Unit
  • MAB - Medical Ambulance Bus
  • MAU - Mobile Air Unit
  • MCSU - Medical Care Support Unit
  • PAT - Paramedic Aerial Tower
  • PBE - Paramedic Brush Engine
  • PE - Paramedic Engine
  • PRE - Paramedic Rescue Engine
  • PT- Paramedic Truck
  • RE - Rescue Engine
  • RS - Rescue Squad
  • SA - Safety Officer
  • SU - Support Unit
  • SW - Swift Water
  • T - Truck
  • TR - Technical Rescue
  • UTV - Utility Task Vehicle
  • W - Tanker

See also

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Further reading

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  • "Bethesda Fire Department, Inc. - History". Bethesda Fire Department, Inc. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  • "Glen Echo Fire Department - about GEFD". Glen Echo Fire Department. Archived from the original on 2006-07-15. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  • "Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association - about us". Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-01-01.

References

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  1. ^ a b 911NewsCoverage (4 July 2014). "ABC (WJLA) 9-11-2001 News Coverage 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Council Approves Changes to Fire & Rescue Services" (PDF) (Press release). Montgomery County Government. May 4, 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  3. ^ Parrish, Warren (June 9, 2004). "County volunteer firefighters endorse restructuring law". The Gazette Newspapers. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  4. ^ "Message From The Chief". Cowlitz 2 Fire. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  5. ^ "Montgomery County Council Confirms Corey Smedley as County Fire and Rescue Service Chief". Montgomery County Government.
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