Membership Frequently Asked Questions

Many of the common questions we get from perspective members are listed below. If you have a specific question that is not addressed below, please fill out our online form and a member from the recruitment team will be in touch.  We appreciate your interest in the BCCRS and we look forward to having you join our proud organization.Yes.  In addition to standing the basic duty shift of twelve-hours a week (including the extended weekend duty once every six weeks) in which you will respond to emergency calls, there is the training requirement.  It is a lot, but it is also something that everyone training you has achieved. All our members are volunteers and have full-time jobs, families, and other such responsibilities. It can be done and it is very rewarding!Due to the training requirements, we look for volunteers who are going to be in the area full time for a minimum of 5 years.  The training requirements mean that the return on investment to the squad and the individual are not sufficient to accept applicants who are only in the area for a limited portion of the year or will not be in the area after the completion of training to provide service with the training they have received for at least several years.No. We have no residency requirements. However, you should consider that many of the activities you must attend are center in Bethesda, near Montgomery Mall, and at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy. It is currently located near the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg. Metro is easily accessible to the main Rescue Squad facility, but is not close to the Training Academy.Shortly after you join, you will be assigned to a night crew. When assigning you, the Rescue Squad will make every effort to honor your preference for a specific night crew, but we also seek to keep the crews balanced. During this period, you are at the station and responding to emergency calls.

There is a somewhat complicated rotation that will be explained to you during the interview process, but in summary: Night crew members have the same duty night every week, except that to ensure that no crew is forced to stand duty every Saturday night, there is a “Roving” crew that takes a rotating weeknight each week and that night crew stands duty on Saturday night and into Sunday day. Confused yet? Don’t worry, logistics such as this will be explained after you are accepted into the Rescue Squad.

Junior members have a shorter duty shift, from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. on school nights. Junior Members who do not have school the next day are expected to spend the night at the Rescue Squad to further their experience and training.The Rescue Squad remains one of the strongest stations in the County in terms of staffing. In addition to nights and weekends being volunteer staffed, the Rescue Squad staffs apparatus during the daytime (except for one paramedic chase car) with personnel paid by the Rescue Squad using funds collected from our Fund Drives. This staffing model allows much greater flexibility to integrate volunteer and paid personnel to most effectively manage the station. With over 150 active volunteer members, we also have a large membership base. Nevertheless, it is important that you are interested in joining because the secret to successfully managing a volunteer organization is to always be training new talent.Probationary members are present in the organization to be “sponges” and absorb as much knowledge and skill as they can in a quiet, competent and rapid manner. It is important that you have the type of personality that will respect this structure and your role, but ask questions at appropriate times and ensure that you exhibit discipline and commitment to learning the trade and reaching the level of “private” as quickly as possible.In order to begin volunteering at the Rescue Squad, you need to be at least 16. If you are between 16 and 18 years old, you are considered a Junior Member. Requirements for Junior Members are somewhat different than for someone who joins at 18, but you will be able to progress through EMT class and Firefighter 1 and 2 (if you may wish to participate in the Fire/Rescue track) before turning 18. Click here for more information about the Junior Membership program.The short answer is yes, however it does take dedication to both organizations to make the schedules work!  We operate on a night crew system, and have for decades.  This system requires each active member of the organization to ride from 1900 to 0700 one night each week with an assigned crew, as well as complete between 10 and 20 hours of weekend dayside shifts every two months.  We are not able to accommodate late arrivals or early departures as we have no supplemental staffing at our station, unlike other Montgomery County Fire/Rescue stations, and we are expected to maintain minimum staffing for the entire 1900-0700 period.

Second, we fall under the SOPs of the Montgomery County Fire/Rescue Service (MCFRS) which is the combination department serving all of Montgomery County.  As such, there are mandatory trainings that will need to be completed during your first 12 to 18 months.  These courses are Protective Envelope and Foam (8 hours), HAZMAT Operations (36 hours), Emergency Medical Technician (165 hours), and a few online IT/HIPAA trainings.  If you are coming to us with an EMT or NRP certification already, that training is obviously waived and we will work with you on your reciprocity application with the State of Maryland.Yes, but we take the best traditions. The military services are to be admired in the way they foster teamwork and create efficient management structures in extremely difficult situations. The fire, rescue and emergency medical services mission demands that members know the structure of the organization and who they receive direction from in critical situations. A military like system provides this structure for emergency operations through a Chief, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chiefs, Battalion Chiefs, Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants, Privates and probationary members.Starting in 2018, the requirement for members to participate in door-to-door fundraising was eliminated.  The Rescue Squad continues to solicit donations from area residents, however members no longer have an individual fundraising requirement.No. We apologize, but due to the time and effort that it will take you and your Rescue Squad mentors to get you to charge Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) status, it is not beneficial to either party to take members in who have limited time windows. We understand that life is not always planned out, so this rule is flexible for those that may be uncertain. These situations should be discussed in your interview in a frank and honest manner with the interviewers.Absolutely. Most of our members come to us with no training or experience. We will provide all of your training, free of charge.We provide all the training free of charge. Most of our training is done at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA) near the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg .No, but we have seen some horror stories so please read on. Maryland is now a National Registry state. Anyone with a current National Registry card (EMT or higher) or a valid EMT card from another state is generally permitted to certify after completing a 24-hour Maryland EMT recertification class. If you recently completed an EMT course that was eligible for National Registry testing, we strongly encourage you to follow through on your option and get National Registry status. It is not essential in Maryland, but does make the reciprocity process easier. We can help you get your reciprocity for Maryland and you will be required to have an “affiliation” with a Maryland EMS agency to start the process. One last note, if you are close to expiration, it is critical that you maintain your original State or National Registry certification until you have a Maryland EMT card. You are not eligible for the reciprocity process with an expired card. Visit the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems website, www.miemss.org, for more information on reciprocity.It depends on the original training, how long ago it was, who taught it, what standards they used, if the agency was certified and documentation available. There is a formal process to apply for equivalency for outside training, but the examiners do not provide the review until you are a member of BCCRS and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.Complete the online membership interest form on the website. Please be careful to complete all necessary information in a truthful manner.  Once we receive the complete application, we will call you to schedule a brief interview.The recruitment committee conducts interviews of applicants on a monthly basis. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.