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Montgomery County Volunteer Fire - Rescue Association Announces Award of Federal Grant for Recruiting New Volunteers

Congratulations to our partners in public safety on receiving this federal grant to support volunteer fire and rescue recruiting and retention.

Thanks MCVFRA for the many contributions towards making Montgomery County the largest and best resourced combination fire and rescue department in the nation.

Montgomery County Volunteer Fire - Rescue Association Announces Award of Federal Grant for Recruiting New V...

Interesting in giving back to your community? Volunteers Needed!

Interesting in giving back to your community? Go here to learn more: Join Fire and Rescue 

Mark Your Calendars - Upcoming Fire Department Open Houses

October is Fire Prevention Month and fire stations around Montgomery County will be hosting many educational, family-oriented activities and Open House events throughout the month. This year’s theme focuses on the importance of preventing kitchen fires. The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking and while there can be “too many cooks in the kitchen” having no cooks in the kitchen can be potentially far more dangerous.

All Open House events are free and will feature many exciting activities including tours of the station, fire safety activities, educational information/handouts, demonstrations of emergency equipment and much more. Please visit the fire station’s website or call for a complete listing of activities planned.

October 12

Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department, Station 15         12 – 4 p.m.
13900 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD

240-773-8957

October 13

Chevy Chase Fire Department, Station 7                         10 – 4 p.m.

8001 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 

301-652-0707

Kensington Volunteer Fire Department, Station 5               12 – 4 p.m.

10620 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD
(240) 773-4705
                    
Hillandale Volunteer Fire Department, Station 24               12 – 3 p.m.

13216 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD

240-773-4724

                                              
October 20

Glen Echo Volunteer Fire Department, Station 11               10 – 2 p.m.

5920 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD 

301-229-3200

Volunteer Firefighter Of The Year Award

By: Lieutenant Sam Villani

Every year the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire/ Rescue Association bestows the  George Hillard Award for Firefighter of the Year to the Volunteer Firefighter that exemplifies excellence and dedication. Master Firefighter Robert ‘RJ’ James from Rockville Volunteer Fire Department received this distinction for 2012. Master Firefighter James was recognized for his dedication to training, including his design and development of forcible entry props and drills.

Well done RJ!

Arrive Alive and Don’t Text and Drive!

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue and Calleva Outdoor Adventures are sponsoring a new “Don’t Text and Drive” campaign at Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Poolesville. Each year Markoff’s haunted forest attracts thousands of people from across the Washington DC area.

This year the haunted forest patrons will be greeted by a shocking visual display of what could happen in the event that you text and drive. In addition, volunteers from some of Montgomery County’s local fire and rescue departments are passing out “Don’t Text and Drive” flyers and talking with the patrons about opportunities to volunteer at the local departments.

Calleva Outdoor Adventures sponsors the Markoff’s Haunted Forest every year to help raise funds for their outdoor camps. The haunted forest will be open at sundown all weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), checkout there website for directions www.markoffshauntedforest.com.

On your way out to the haunted forest remember: Arrive Alive and Don’t Text and Drive!

New Volunteer Basic Orientation Class Starts With 43 People!

Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association held its latest Volunteer Basic Orientation Class which was the largest to this point! Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Richard Bowers stopped by to show his support and give the opening welcome to the group!

Forty-Three students from nine different volunteer departments participated in the training which is Nine weeks long on and was held on Friday nights. The classes included CPR and AED certification, basic Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Operations, basic fire ground operations, self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and
Incident Command modules. SCBA is the air bottle the fire fighters wear on their back to provide fresh air. PPE is all of the other protective equipment you might see a fire fighter wear at a fire.

Classes are designed to provide new members with a basic level of training and understanding as they begin their path toward becoming an emergency responder. All of the students and instructors are volunteers.

If you are interested in volunteering any time from a few hours a month to one night a week, we have emergency operations and non-emergency support positions available throughout the entire county. No experience is necessary and all training is provided FREE. To learn more, please call 240-777-2238 or email fire.recruiting@Montgomerycountymd.gov