2024 ANNUAL REPORT - Final

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COUNTY EXECUTIVE JESSICA FITZWATER

The men and women of the Frederick County Division of Fire & Rescue Services (DFRS) are committed and courageous public servants who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our community safe. They provide excellent service every day to the people who live and work here. During 2024, we made big strides toward faster, safer responses. In a field where every second counts, we reduced the time it takes a paramedic to reach a patient’s side by a full minute through the implementation of Phase 3 of our Advanced Life Support Deployment Plan. We also increased safety for our staff by adding a fourth person to the crews of seven additional fire engines stationed across the County. Work began at sites for new Green Valley and Carroll Manor stations.

Jessica Fitzwater

County Executive

Our Mobile Community Health program leads the way in Maryland. The program’s Community Outreach and Support Team became the first EMS agency in the State to be able to administer Buprenorphine in the field. Working in partnership with the Frederick County Health Department, we have placed life-saving harm reduction vending machines in our communities. As a result, the number of fatal overdoses in Frederick County dropped to 19 in 2024, a drop of nearly 50% from the previous year. We graduated two new recruit classes of firefighters and a paramedic class this year. To keep all 1,100 career and volunteer personnel safer in traffic, we secured a $392,000 grant for training and equipment through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’ s Assistance to Firefighters Program. This training is to protect those who protect us every day.

As County Executive, I am proud of the work DFRS does every day to save lives and protect property. The people of Frederick County are grateful to these dedicated men and women who keep our community safe.

Jessica Fitzwater County Executive

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