Join us for the experience of a lifetime.

It’s 4:27 p.m. and the alarm sounds. The call is a multiple car accident on the Beltway. They need your help. You jump into action with the rest of the Squad.

Nothing can match your excitement when you hear the alarm. The exhilaration of diving into your gear and running for the ambulance or the squad truck. The satisfaction of knowing that you may save a life tonight.

Become a volunteer with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Be one of the dedicated men and women who donate one night a week when your community calls. It’s the experience of a lifetime.

It takes the right stuff to be a volunteer.

Not for the faint-hearted, membership as an active volunteer in the Squad requires physical strength, stamina, and a strong constitution.

Active volunteers stand duty one night a week. When an emergency, fire, or rescue call occurs, active members fully participate and are often required to perform strenuous tasks.

If you’re at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma, and can pass the physical, you can become a volunteer for the Squad and begin your training to become an Emergency Medical Technician, Firefighter, or Paramedic.

If you have special administrative, fundraising, accounting, computer, or other skills, you can become an Administrative Member and skip the physical exam.

First-rate training for a first-class squad. 

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad prides itself on preparing you to help in any emergency. That’s why we offer the best training available.

Your training begins at the Fire/Rescue Training Academy with a Basic Emergency Care course that leads to state certification as an Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B). The training program consists of over 131 hours of classroom time coupled with additional in-hospital clinical requirements and countless hours spent riding Rescue Squad ambulances on actual emergency calls. You will learn about patient assessment; CPR; bleeding control; fracture management; and medical, environmental, and obstetrical emergencies. You will also learn how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to restart a heart. Eventually, you will use many of these skills to save lives.

Ongoing evaluation and training keeps you up to date.

When you join the Squad, you are placed on a probationary period, during which you earn your EMT-B certification. A team of seasoned volunteers and officers constantly evaluates your performance. At the completion of your probationary period, you are qualified as an aid person and will ride the ambulances as the patient care provider.

In addition to formal training, you receive departmental training each night that you stand duty. Re-certification courses are offered periodically.

Many of our members choose to take additional instruction to become a Paramedic. The 532-hour EMT-I class leads to a higher level of medical training for pre-hospital care providers at the Rescue Squad. This advanced training prepares you to administer drugs, offer intravenous therapy, and interpret EKGs using a cardiac monitor.

Further advancement

Opportunities for further advancement and training abound. Once you’ve mastered emergency care, it’s back to school for driver’s education. Each emergency driver must attend a departmental driving program and an Emergency Vehicle Operator’s Course. This course covers the legal aspects of operating emergency vehicles, driver attitude and knowledge, and response preparation. You’ll also get practical training at the wheel of an ambulance on a closed course.

Ever wanted to fight a fire?

Try the rigorous Essentials of Firefighting Class. The 120-hour firefighter's course consists of extensive classroom instruction as well as physically demanding practical training, including live firefighting exercises. Training includes not just how to extinguish fires, but also skills needed to address a variety of emergency situations involving hazardous materials, electrical equipment, fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and many others.

Wait--there's more.  Ride one of the big rigs.  

The Squad's two rescue trucks each weighs 20 tons and carries all manner of equipment for every conceivable type of rescue situation.   Your firefighter training will serve you in good stead, but before you can become a member of our elite technical rescue team, you'll need to go back to the Academy for courses in Practical Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, and Swiftwater Rescue.

. . . Or one of the smaller rigs. 

Our Bicycle Emergency Response Team rides to the rescue at events like the Taste of Bethesda, the Cherry Blossom run, and the Joint Services Open House at Andrews Air Force Base.

Now you can see why we are one of the best trained rescue squads in the nation.  But you won't be sitting in a classroom all day--you'll be saving lives.   

Whether you're interested in Emergency Medical Services, running rescue calls, or fighting fires, you'll have plenty to do.  The Squad runs almost 11,000 calls a year.   Our fleet includes 4 medic units, 3 ambulances, 2 heavy rescue squads, 2 air support units for refilling firefighters’ breathing apparatus at fire scenes, and various command and utility vehicles. We respond on all types of emergency incidents, including injuries, illnesses, heart attacks, vehicle collisions, house fires, and all types of rescue situations. 

Administrative Members keep our operation in tip-top shape.

Not interested in running calls?   You can still help us save lives.  As an Administrative Member, you’ll perform the wide variety of duties that keep the Squad running smoothly day after day, night after night. Administrative Members dispatch apparatus, raise funds, train other members, and perform other duties critical to the Rescue Squad. Administrative volunteer hours are flexible and can be based on your needs. You are asked to volunteer at least four hours a week. Administrative members undergo the same application process as Active Members but do not undergo a physical exam.

Think you have what it takes?  Click on the links below to join or to learn more. 
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Click here to join.

Get more information.

Learn about the Squad's history and our national reputation.

Read about our services.

Learn about the Bicycle Emergency Response Team.

Read about the Rescue Squad in the news.