April 17, 2007
For immediate release

MEDIA AND COMMUNITY ADVISORY

Contact: Battalion Chief Kendall Sanderson
E-mail: info@bccrs.org

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Launches Recruiting Drive

Visit www.bccrs.org throughout April for more information on volunteering. 

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad (BCCRS), one of the nation's most advanced and best trained rescue squads, is launching a membership drive to recruit new volunteer members. BCCRS invites men and women 18 years or older who want to experience the excitement of responding to emergency calls and serving the community to volunteer a minimum of one night a week as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), paramedics, firefighters, and administrative members.

The Rescue Squad has an extremely diverse membership that includes people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and professions ranging from accountants to full-time parents, and government employees to school teachers.

Applicants need no prior experience or training to join the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Prospective EMTs, Paramedics, and Firefighters receive free, professional training at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy, leading to state certification, as well as annual physicals. Members have opportunities to receive further specialized training in such areas as swift-water rescue, rope rescue, and confined space rescue. Administrative Members assist with dispatching apparatus, fundraising, public relations, and other important tasks

For information on volunteering, call the membership hotline at 301-657-5557, email membership@bccrs.org, or visit www.bccrs.org. The Rescue Squad’s current recruiting drive runs through September, although the Squad recruits volunteer members year-round and welcomes applications for membership anytime.

The Squad is fully integrated into Montgomery County's fire and rescue service and works closely with the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department to coordinate its emergency medical and rescue responses in the District of Columbia. Rescue Squad members respond and take command on emergency calls, working side-by-side with personnel from other county and regional fire/rescue departments.

Now in its 67th year, BCCRS is a community-supported non-profit organization that provides free emergency medical, ambulance, rescue, and fire services to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Maryland area, as well as upper Northwest Washington, D.C. With 150 active volunteers--men and women who respond to almost 11,000 emergency calls per year--BCCRS has evolved into one of the nation's most advanced rescue squads, providing compassionate, life-saving services to the community. BCCRS does not receive a regular appropriated budget from any government. Instead, BCCRS raises almost all of its $1.4 million operating budget from individual donors, foundations, and businesses. Contributions to BCCRS are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

Community organizations are encouraged to publish this information in community papers, electronic bulletin boards, and listservs, and to reproduce and distribute copies of this release.

To download the membership application, click here.

For more information about volunteering, click here.

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