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Volunteer EMT or Fire Fighter
Glen Echo Vol Fire Dept
5920 Massachusetts Ave
Bethesda, MD 20816
240-773-4711
Description
Glen Echo Fire Department (GEFD) is a combination career-volunteer department located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Maryland. We have around 30 active members who come from all walks of life. Our membership includes high school, college, and medical students, parents, attorneys, scientists, dog walkers, military personnel, and engineers, just to name a few.
There are wonderful, interesting people at Glen Echo Fire Department, and the atmosphere is not only professional, but also fun and welcoming—we take great pride in thinking of ourselves as a family and as having a “firehouse” rather than a “fire station.”
Some of our more senior members will tell you that they started as volunteers thinking they would just stick with it for a couple years, only to find that their experience at Glen Echo was something they were unwilling to leave behind. GEFD volunteers who’ve moved as far away as Utah and Florida still come back several times a year to be at the firehouse and to run calls.
And several of our volunteers—some of whom will tell you they never would have dreamed of becoming doctors or nurses—have found their calling while members of the department and have subsequently gone on to medical school or nursing school, or have become physician assistants.
We are also the closest volunteer firehouse to American University, and many of our members are Eagles. We’re located right on several bus lines and are less than a mile from where Massachusetts Avenue intersects the Capital Crescent Trail (a paved bike path linking Georgetown, downtown Bethesda, and other locations), so it’s easy to get to us.
There are wonderful, interesting people at Glen Echo Fire Department, and the atmosphere is not only professional, but also fun and welcoming—we take great pride in thinking of ourselves as a family and as having a “firehouse” rather than a “fire station.”
Some of our more senior members will tell you that they started as volunteers thinking they would just stick with it for a couple years, only to find that their experience at Glen Echo was something they were unwilling to leave behind. GEFD volunteers who’ve moved as far away as Utah and Florida still come back several times a year to be at the firehouse and to run calls.
And several of our volunteers—some of whom will tell you they never would have dreamed of becoming doctors or nurses—have found their calling while members of the department and have subsequently gone on to medical school or nursing school, or have become physician assistants.
We are also the closest volunteer firehouse to American University, and many of our members are Eagles. We’re located right on several bus lines and are less than a mile from where Massachusetts Avenue intersects the Capital Crescent Trail (a paved bike path linking Georgetown, downtown Bethesda, and other locations), so it’s easy to get to us.
Volunteer Category: Firefighter, EMT
Requirements
There are some sacrifices and some commitment required to be a volunteer at GEFD, but they are far outweighed by the enormous rewards from helping others in their time of need — this gets reinforced with every card or letter we receive from someone who’s grateful for the assistance our personnel have provided and the kindness our personnel have shown
We ask that all of our members commit to volunteering 600 hours per year, typically in a scheduled weekly 12 hour shift. We offer flexible scheduling and make every effort to accommodate our member's lives outside of the fire house. If you’re a college student in the DC area and your home is elsewhere, it’s possible to take EMS or firefighter classes and to fulfill the volunteer staffing commitment during the school year. If you work a full time job we offer shifts that are overnight and/or on weekends, and we also offer flexible scheduling to help our members meet our requirements around their schedule.
We also ask that members show a pattern of regular advancement during their first year in the fire service. This means committing to training such as EMT class, HAZMAT operations class, technology training courses, and additional classes and check offs that may require some extra time commitment.
Lastly, our members are asked to participate in at least three special events per year. Two of these events are our bingo fundraiser in September and our open house in October. There are additional events that take place year round including our santa runs, special event stand-bys, spring cleaning, large scale training drills, and more.
We ask that all of our members commit to volunteering 600 hours per year, typically in a scheduled weekly 12 hour shift. We offer flexible scheduling and make every effort to accommodate our member's lives outside of the fire house. If you’re a college student in the DC area and your home is elsewhere, it’s possible to take EMS or firefighter classes and to fulfill the volunteer staffing commitment during the school year. If you work a full time job we offer shifts that are overnight and/or on weekends, and we also offer flexible scheduling to help our members meet our requirements around their schedule.
We also ask that members show a pattern of regular advancement during their first year in the fire service. This means committing to training such as EMT class, HAZMAT operations class, technology training courses, and additional classes and check offs that may require some extra time commitment.
Lastly, our members are asked to participate in at least three special events per year. Two of these events are our bingo fundraiser in September and our open house in October. There are additional events that take place year round including our santa runs, special event stand-bys, spring cleaning, large scale training drills, and more.
38.9629303
-77.1209629
