Volunteering
Become a part of the Team
When you walk or drive down South Church Street in Middletown you can’t help but look over at the fire trucks sitting there all polished, knowing that at any moment they could be called upon to help someone within our community. You too can have the personal reward of helping your neighbors by volunteering at the Middletown Volunteer Fire Company. For 117 years, the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department has been providing constant fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to the Middletown Valley. Now we are need of your help. Averaging over 400 fire calls and 600 calls ambulance calls every year, we are in need for more volunteer responders for emergency calls as well as general assistance for all of our fundraisers and other events.
Basic Requirements
If you are 16 or older and believe that you are physically ready to handle the calls; as well as a desire to help people, we’re looking for you. If you’re between the ages of 16 to 18 you can join with parental permission. If you do not have the desire to participate and train on the Fire and Rescue portion of the Company, you may want to consider joining our Fire Police unit or helping with our social events like our Mega Bingo, Annual Carnival along with the many other fund raising events we have. All help is very appreciated and needed.
Basic Training
All training is free of charge to volunteers. In addition to the in-house training at the station which ranges from CPR to vehicle extrications, volunteers attend the University of Maryland - Maryland Fire Rescue Institute (MFRI) in conjunction with the Frederick County Fire Academy. For those individuals looking to start a career in the Fire Service, all of the classes are eligible for College credits. There are minimum training requirements to participate in Fire – Rescue incidents.
Commitment
For firefighting there is a serious commitment of time which entails a Fire Fighting I class that is approximately 102 hours of both lecture and practical training. If you are interested in the Emergency Medical Training (EMT), the class consists of about 200 hours of training but once completed you will be a certified Maryland EMT-B. In addition to these classes there are other classes that will enhance your training and knowledge of the Fire Service. As stated above, if you’re not interested in riding on the Fire/EMSapparatus, you may elect to take classes to become a certified Fire Policemember from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office or join as a Social member to assist the Company in many other ways.
Benefits
Aside from the feeling of helping others the state offers a tax break for your service. The Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) gives volunteers a tax write off for running calls and supporting the company. This would include attending meetings, training, or helping at fundraisers. For our High School students, the hours spent volunteering at the station are eligible for meritorious service learning credits. Credits may be earned by running calls or by helping with events.
To Join
Stop by the fire house and pick up an application, or just print out an application from this web page, fill it out and drop it off at the Station. Once this is completed, a member of our Membership Committee will contact you for a interview.
Click here for access to the Frederick County Gear Up web site
Click here to access the Frederick County Volunteer Rescue Association.
Click VFRS Background Check Form - revised to view and complete the required background form.
