Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

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.

Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services

French: Gardez Bien (in English) Watch Well
Agency overview
Staffing	1,200+ career
Fire chief	Scott Goldstein
EMS level	ALS
Facilities and equipment
Battalions	5
Stations	38 (figure includes volunteer corporation-owned firehouses, county-owned fire stations, and fire stations located on federal facilities)
Engines	36
Trucks	17
Rescues	6
Website
MontgomeryCountyMD.gov/MCFRS

History

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

1990s

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

2000s

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. However, actual services are delivered from the 19 local fire and rescue companies, who own and operate 25 of the fire stations in the county. The county uses an incident command system to coordinate the efforts of paid and volunteer personnel at the scenes of emergencies. Montgomery County works closely with and has mutual aid agreements with Washington, D.C., Fairfax, Frederick, Howard, and Prince George's counties.

2010s

During an emergency that would require a response from multiple agencies, dispatchers are quickly able to identify what county a particular piece of apparatus came from. As well as a fast response time with other jurisdictions. A typical example would be: "Alarm" Engine 436 Engine 409 Engine 411(Fairfax) Engine 707 (Montgomery) Engine 202 (Alexandria) Rescue 417 Tanker 712 Medic 409 Battalion Chief 703 and 704 Channel 4-Delta For a working fire 1111 address court. Caller advises smoke and fire from windows 21:11.

Stations and Apparatus

The county is broken into five battalions, with a total of 36 fire stations and 2 rescue companies.

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		A702, A702B
3	Rockville VFD	3rd Battalion	PE703, PE703B	AT703, RS703	M703, A703, A703B, A703C, M703B, ALS703	SU703, UT703B, UT703C
4	Sandy Spring VFD	4th Battalion	PE704		A704	W704
5	Kensington VFD - Old Town	4th Battalion	PE705, PE705B		M705, A705, A705B, ALS705	B705, CT705
6	Bethesda FD	2nd Battalion	PE706	T706	A706
7	Chevy Chase FD	2nd Battalion	PE707			HM707, UT707
8	Gaithersburg-Washington Grove VFD	3rd Battalion	PE708	PAT708	M708, M708B, A708, A708C	CT708, B708, UTV708, BUTV708
9	Hyattstown VFD	5th Battalion	PRE709, RBE709		A709	B709, B709B, W709, UTV709
10	Cabin John Park VFD	2nd Battalion	PE710, E710B	T710	A710	B710, SW710, SW710B
11	Glen Echo FD	2nd Battalion	PE711		A711, A711B, ALS711	UTV711
12	Hillandale VFD	1st Battalion	PE712		M712, A712	BC701
13	Damascus VFD	5th Battalion	PE713, E713B, BE713		M713, A713	B713, W713
14	Upper Montgomery County VFD	5th Battalion	PE714, RE714, BE714		M714, A714	UTV714, B714, BT714, BT714B, W714
15	Burtonsville VFD	1st Battalion	PE715, E715B	T715, RS715	M715, A715	B715
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	Glenmont (MCFRS)	4th Battalion	PE718	AT718		BC704, EMS704, CP718
19	Silver Spring VFD - Montgomery Hills	1st Battalion	PE719	AT719
20	Bethesda FD - Midtown Bethesda	2nd Battalion	PE720			BC702
21	Kensington VFD - Viers Mill Village	4th Battalion	PE721		A721
22	Kingsview (MCFRS)	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	AT724	A724	B724
25	Kensington VFD - Aspen Hill	4th Battalion	PE725	T725	ALS725, A725, A725B	SU725, BT725
26	Bethesda FD - North Bethesda	2nd Battalion	PE726		A726 (BCCRS)	MAB726, MCSU726
27	Public Safety Training Academy (MCFRS)		E727			CP727
28	Gaithersburg-Washington Grove VFD - Derwood	3rd Battalion	PE728		A728	HM728
29	Germantown VFD	5th Battalion	PE729, E729B	RS729	M729, A729, A729B	BS729, BT729
30	Cabin John Park VFD - Potomac	2nd Battalion	PE730		M730	W730, B730, BS730, BS730B, SW730, SW730B
31	Rockville VFD - Quince Orchard	3rd Battalion	PE731	T731	M731	BT731, BS731, W731, TR700, TR700B, SU731, UTV731
32	Travilah (MCFRS)	3rd Battalion	PE732		A732	BC703, EMS703, SA700, DC700, CP732
33	Rockville VFD - Potomac	3rd Battalion	PE733		A733	B733, CT733, MAU733
34	Milestone (MCFRS)	5th Battalion	PE734	T734	A734	BC705
35	Clarksburg (MCFRS)	5th Battalion	PE735	AT735	A735
40	Sandy Spring VFD - Olney	4th Battalion	PE740 E740B	AT740	A740	B740, BS740, BT740, CT740, UTV740, BUTV740
Rescue Co. 1	Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad	2nd Battalion		RS741, RS741B	M741, M741B, M741C, M741D, ALS741, U741
Rescue Co. 2	Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad	4th Battalion		RS742, RS742B	A742, A742B, A742C, A742D, ALS742, ALS742B	UT742, UTV742
50	Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Naval Support Activity Bethesda Fire Department) (Federal)	2nd Battalion	E750, E750B		M750	BC750
51	National Institutes of Health FD (Federal)	2nd Battalion	E751	AT751	A751	HM751
52	Naval Surface Warfare Center (Naval Support Facility Carderock Fire Department) (Federal)	2nd Battalion	E752			UT752
53	National Institute of Standards and Technology FD (Federal)	3rd Battalion	E753, E753B		A753	B753, HM753
54	Fort Detrick Forest Glen Annex Fire and Emergency Services (Federal)	1st Battalion	E754, E754B			HM754

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
• PE - Paramedic Engine
• PRE - Paramedic Rescue Engine
• 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

• Fire departments in Maryland

Further reading

• "Council Approves Changes to Fire & Rescue Services" (PDF) (Press release). Montgomery County Government. May 4, 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
• "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.
• Parrish, Warren (June 9, 2004). "County volunteer firefighters endorse restructuring law". The Gazette Newspapers. Retrieved 2007-01-01.

References

1. 911NewsCoverage (4 July 2014). "ABC (WJLA) 9-11-2001 News Coverage 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM" – via YouTube.

External links

• Official website
• Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service at the Wayback Machine (archived January 14, 1998)
• GWGVFD at the Wayback Machine (archived June 5, 2002)