August 31, 2006
For immediate release

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:Assistant Chief Johnie Roth
(301) 652-0077

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Members
Take Top Honors
in Graduation Ceremony

Members of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad (BCCRS), one of the nation's most advanced and best-trained rescue squads, took top honors in Summer graduation ceremonies at the Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue Training Academy on August 25, 2006. 

Nineteen Rescue Squad volunteers were recognized for completing training programs to become Emergency Medical Technicians or Firefighters.

Rescue Squad volunteer Melissa Rothstein received the prestigious Richard B. Thompson Award for top academic performance in her Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B) class.   EMT-B is the first level of formalized medical training required for all Rescue Squad volunteers. 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.  EMT-Bs perform a variety of skills, including patient assessment, basic life support, and use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).  

BCCRS volunteers Alex Akman, Judson Battaglia, Nicholas Bralove, Adelina Buganu, Christopher Hersh, David Jensen, Ross Nachbi, Kenley Sands, Harrison Spencer, Keith Stakes, Naveed Choudry, Alana O’Grady, Sarah Pickrell, and Cara Attanasio also completed the EMT-B training program

Rescue Squad volunteer Connor King received the A. Marvin Gibbons Award for outstanding academic performance in Montgomery County's rigorous Essentials of Firefighting Class.  Rescue Squad volunteers Michael Cardozo, David Hoagland, and Harrison Spencer  also completed the 120-hour firefighter's course, which 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.      

All Rescue Squad volunteers and staff  receive professional training and meet or exceed state standards before responding to emergency calls.         

Now in its 67th year, BCCRS is a community-supported non-profit organization that provides free emergency fire, rescue, and ambulance services to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Maryland area and Upper Northwest Washington, D.C.  Thanks to the generous donations of the community, the efforts of 150 professionally trained volunteers, and a staff of daytime employees, 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 direct tax funds.  Instead, BCCRS raises almost all of its $1.4 million operating budget from individual donors, foundations, businesses, and occasional state and federal grants.  BCCRS’s Annual Fund Drive, which runs through October and raises over half of its operating budget, is now under way. BCCRS is registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to BCCRS are tax-deductible as allowable by law.  For more information on BCCRS’s fundraising programs, call 301-674-5270 or email development@bccrs.org.

For information on volunteering with BCCRS, call the membership hotline at 301-657-5557 or email membership@bccrs.org.  BCCRS welcomes new volunteers year-round.   No experience is necessary, and volunteers receive free professional training as well as annual physicals.