You look like a great Car Seat Tech!

For over two decades, the Car Seat Program has educated thousands of caregivers on how to properly use and install car seats. Thousands of children have been properly secured in their car seats or seat belts thanks to the efforts of the many amazing child passenger safety technicians who make up MCFRS’ Car Seat Program. These technicians all have one thing in common: they care deeply about kids and want to make sure kids are safe on every ride.

The Car Seat Program is always looking for passionate, dedicated, and community-oriented individuals to become part of our team. If this description fits you, please consider becoming a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician. This year, we are hosting two certification trainings in Montgomery County and invite you to sign up. The first training will be held in May and another in October. Information on the trainings and how to sign-up is at the link below. Both trainings will be held in Gaithersburg.

CPS technicians use their considerable knowledge and expertise at a variety of community-based activities, such as child safety seat checks, where parents and caregivers receive education and hands-on assistance. Here in Montgomery County, we host car seat check on a weekly basis in Germantown, Aspen Hill, and Takoma Park with occasional events in Rockville and Wheaton. In addition to the checks, technicians educate the community on child passenger safety at community events, festivals, schools, and non-profit organizations.

Our program is highly rated and nationally recognized. We strive to provide a fun, friendly, and welcoming environment to caregivers. If you have questions or are interested in becoming a car seat technician, you can click on the link below or contact Anthony Ramirez, Program Manager, at anthony.ramirez@montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-2467.

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🔷 May 9^th through 12^th (Monday - Thursday) with final seat check on Saturday the 14^th:

Click for Class Information 
Course ID: MD202112211131

🔷 October 13^th and 14^th (Thursday and Friday) and then October 18 -20 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and seat check on Thursday the 20^th):

Click for Class Information
Course ID:  MD202112211134            

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There are other trainings occurring throughout Maryland in 2022 and people can attend any of these trainings too. They are at the following locations/dates.

6/7 – 6/11 in Middletown

7/12 – 7/16 in Edgewood

11/1 – 11/4 in Pikesville

Fire Safety Tips

With the holiday season approaching, Fire Chief Goldstein and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service would like to share some important fire safety tips for our friends celebrating Passover. There are many things families can do to reduce the chance of a fire starting in their homes. Please make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working and that you have practiced a home escape plan. Remember, the very best safety plan is prevention.

A Community-Centered Budget

Highlights from the FY23 Recommended Budget 

Link to the Complete Budget: MCFRS FY23 Proposed Budget

The mission of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) is to provide
maximum protection of lives, property, and the environment with comprehensive 
risk reduction programs and safe and effective emergency response provided by highly 
skilled career and volunteer service providers representing the County's diverse population.

MCFRS is voluntarily participating in a new Supplemental Payment Program with Maryland Department of Health which provides federal reimbursement for certain qualified ambulance transports. The program is intended to infuse EMS systems with sustainable funding to support EMS operations and create enhancements. Through this program, the County Executive intends to fund several initiatives in his proposed FY23 budget:

• Add a paramedic chase car to enhance advanced life support (ALS) emergency medical service delivery in Silver Spring. 
• Add an EMS Duty Officer position to enhance advanced life support field supervision.
  This increases coverage from two to three EMS Duty Officers.
• Add a permanent Emergency Medical Service System Capacity Officer to coordinate 
  patient transport to hospitals and balance emergency department loads. This  enhancement is expected to assist in reducing hospital drop times and increase 
  EMS transport availability.
• Increase the capacity of the Mobile Integrated Health program by adding two 
  paramedics to support the existing social worker and registered nurse  on home visits, complement the County's Mobile Crisis Team and enhance 
  other public health efforts, assist with emergency room diversion options, and address the needs of frequent 911 callers. 
• Increase support for local fire and rescue department emergency medical service 
  activities infrastructure.
• Add an Emergency Medical Service Quality Management Battalion Chief to evaluate 
  emergency medical services system performance and assist in optimizing 
  resource deployment.

This enhancement list strives to ensure that the services we are provide are of the highest quality by bolstering point-of-care supervision, enabling correction, and measuring clinical data and patient safety metrics. These enhancements increase administrative bandwidth to expand on current quality programs and improvement initiatives. The proposed FY23 budget provides the framework to increase agility, introduces scalable efficiencies and innovations to  meet the needs of Montgomery County's residents, visitors and business community.      

It's What's on the Inside that Counts - Beeping Easter Eggs

~ Beth Anne Nesselt
Manager, Community Risk Reduction Section

A father’s solution to help his blind daughter participate in an Easter Egg hunt is spreading across the United States thanks to the efforts of military and law enforcement members. David Hyche’s daughter was 4 months old when she lost her vision and has been the motivation behind his research and passion to manufacture "audible" Easter eggs. His work as an ATF agent inspired him to tweak designs until he had eggs equipped with beepers so his daughter and others with vision loss could participate in egg hunts. 

When he showed off his beeping eggs at a convention for bomb technicians, the association thought it would be a great initiative for their members. That’s how the Rachel Project got started and every year military and law enforcement members donate their time and skills to build the eggs for other children with visual impairments. Members of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Bomb Squad is proud to participate in this year's event and have been busy constructing over 100 beeping eggs for this month's special events.  

Who is behind this project? Lt. Phil Baker is the quiet (and humble) force behind the MCFRS Team who has worked closely with the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, Ace Hardware in Brunswick and others key partners and organizations. It is definitely a case of "what's on the inside that counts" and for Montgomery County's Bomb Squad --- they are all heart. The "beeping eggs" are used year-round to help children develop navigational skills and confidence.   

“The Montgomery County Bomb Squad is honored to partner with the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.  This charitable project was initiated and led by Montgomery County Bomb Technician, Lieutenant Phil Baker who was inspired to create beeping Easter eggs after reading about the nationwide event founded by the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI). The event has grown in popularity and the building of these eggs has become an annual event for bomb squads across the country. The Montgomery County Bomb Squad built over 100 beeping eggs and will be delivering them to the members of the visually impaired and blind community and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.” 

                        -Captain Andrew Gettig, Acting Bomb Squad Commander

Learn more about “The Rachel Project” (read about it here).