Operations Support

Purchasing

 The unsung heroes of the Logistics division are Jen Aliff and Ashley Messaris.  They are responsible for the coordination through local, state, and sometimes national contracts with suppliers and vendors on all procurement the department receives.  This includes everything from purchase orders for all Fire Apparatus and our new Fire boats, PPE, tools and equipment, uniforms, station and janitorial supplies, to the smallest consumables.  Essentially, if the Anne Arundel County Fire Department buys it or leases it, Jen or Ashley are involved in it!  Last year, purchasing created 2041 purchase orders and made 3,162 credit card purchases totaling just over 4.15 million dollars to support Operations and the mission of the Fire Department.  

Supply

In close coordination and cooperation with our Purchasing section, the Supply section receives, warehouses, issues and

 delivers almost everything a firefighter, fire apparatus, or fire station needs.  From uniforms and personal protective

 equipment to office and janitorial supplies, medical supplies, heavy tools, and the equipment used on all our apparatus. 

 New this year will be the ordering, storage, and distribution of all the medications used during emergency medical calls!

• Cristina Santillan and Lt. Joshua Pfeiffer led the effort to start the medication supply room aspect of our medical supply inventory.  As hospitals have stopped being suppliers, the need to house all EMS medications in a secure area, along with tracking their ordering and distribution for field units and station supply rooms, has arisen.  Research into other jurisdictions' procedures, along with working with our internal EMS office, has created an organized supply and distribution program.  They are continuing to iron out the nuances and contingencies of being the department's sole EMS medication storage facility.

• Cristina Santillan used her previous experience to begin implementing RFID in the supply room operations.  The team was trained on the use of tags and the inventory hardware.  The goal for the future is to use RFID in the station supply rooms for more efficient cycle counting and more accurate inventory record keeping.

• Days were organized to supply Recruit Class 65 with their initial training equipment and then followed up with their field items at the conclusion of the recruit academy.  The warehouse was then reorganized to host the CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test) for the upcoming Recruit Class 66.

• Lt. Pfeiffer worked on uniform and PPE updates to streamline operations and ordering while maintaining a department with safe equipment and a professional appearance.  The entire team, from purchasing to storekeepers, provides feedback and continues to assist with this effort.

• The front-of-house supply team worked hard to clean up and organize the receiving area and the supply cage to improve inventory control and enhance pride in the work area.  They maintain accuracy in receiving and are willing to step out and assist in unplanned tasks that arise on the daily.

Ground Support  

Coordinates all related planning, specifications, testing, inspections, and servicing for the department’s entire front-line and reserve fleets.  Additional responsibilities include the Equipment shop, which procures, repairs, and services all the equipment necessary to place the vehicle assets in-service to the public.  The current fleet consists of:

• 63 Engines, Pumper Tankers & Mini Pumpers

• 14 Trucks, Towers, Tower-Ladders, & Quints

• 58 Transport Units

• 9 Rescue Squads

• 8 Tankers

• 13 Brush Trucks

• 10 Specialty Vehicles, including our Mobile Ambulance Bus, Mobile Command and Control Unit, Technical Rescue pod hauler, Dive Unit, Air Wagon, ATV/UTV, Coffee Wagon, etc.

• 7 Fire & Rescue Boats

• 250 + Support Vehicles: vans, pickups, SUVs, sedans, and trailers, etc.

New vehicles delivered in 2025:

• Engine 301 & Engine 402

• 2 Ford Expedition MAXs - BC4 & EMS2

• New MAB Support Trailer - Equipment Mounting In Progress

• 3 Freightliner/Horton Medic Units - MU4, MU11, MU29

• Air Wagon 1 - International/EVI

• 2 Ford Explorers - FM10 & FM20

• F-150 - Fire Alarm 5

• F-250 - Special Operations Chief

• 2 F-350's - Ground Support 1 & 2

• F-350 Utility Body - Ground Support 10

• Old Brush 3 & 9 converted into Salt Spreaders

Vehicles currently under construction / On order:

• FY23 - Tower Ladder 40

• FY24 - Truck 1 & Truck 31

• FY25 - Engine 211 & Engine 311

• FY25 - Truck 29 & Truck 30 

• FY25 - 4 F550/Horton Ambulances - A129, A209, A219, A289

• FY25 - 6 International/Horton Medic Units - MU13, MU5, MU28, MU18B, TBD, TBD

• FY26 - Engine 181 & Engine 331

• FY26 - Engine 91 (1500 Gallons)

• FY26 - Rescue Squad 4

• FY26 - F550/EVI - Dive Unit 8

• FY26 - 5 International/Horton Medic Units

• FY26 - 5 Expedition MAXs - SCMD, BC1, BC2, EMS1, EMS3

• FY26 - 3 Ford Explorers - FMO

• FY26 - F250 - Ground Support 30

• FY26 - F150 - Support 1

Equipment Shop

The Equipment Shop is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all firefighting, medical, and patient transport equipment.  This includes items such as nozzles, valves, hoses, lighting equipment, rescue tools, powered saws, positive-pressure ventilation fans, cardiac monitors, Lucas CPR devices, suction units, video laryngoscopes, stretchers, stair chairs, and power-load units.

• Completed 385 service ticket requests for repairs

• Issued 754 replacement items from inventory

• Upgraded 9 suction units to the new VX2 model

• Set up and issued the first four LP35 cardiac monitors to EMS supervisors

• Upgraded all 51 UE Scopes from the VL400E to the VL460 model

• Installed a mezzanine in the shop area to increase space for equipment and inventory

• Completed county-wide annual maintenance and repairs on all biomedical equipment, including cardiac monitors, Lucas devices, stretchers, and Power-Load systems

• Received two new battery-powered Holmatro equipment sets

• Continued the upgrade of Bullard QXT units by adding 6 more QXT Pro models for distribution to stations

• Upgraded 10 Blowhard BH20 fans to the Blowhard Quickee model

• Issued Man in Machine kits to special service units

• Issued tie-back bags to special service units

• Purchased the first 10 TFT Oasis hydrant valves to replace Humat valves

• Acquired 2 commercial-grade pressure washers for use by the stations

Facilities

Acts as a Liaison between the Fire Department, County Facilities Management, and County Contractors on Capital projects, including full remodels of kitchens, baths, engine bays, etc.  Additional responsibilities include the Air shop. 

• Repairs of HVAC systems throughout the summer in all the FD buildings

• Upgrade/replacement of the HVAC system at Station 31

• Front ramp replacement at Station 7

• Overhead door replacement at Station 33

• Bay floor replacement at Station 30

• Generator upgrade/replacement at Station 21

• Bathroom renovations at Stations 40, 41, 23, and 9

• Siding and window replacement at Station 41

• Parking lot repair and restriping at Station 41

• Kitchen renovation at Station 40 

• Kitchen renovation at Station 31

• Emergency generators serviced at all the firehouses

• Repairs to bay doors in all the firehouses

Repair requests and Non-Capital projects:

• Renovated the bunkroom at Station 7 to accommodate the increase in career staffing

• Installed a gravel pad and installed electricity to the office trailer at Station 7 to accommodate the increase in career staffing

• Trimmed and removed trees at many firehouses and FD-owned lots

• Replaced the O2 shed at Station 40

• Approving specifications for all apparatus purchases (county and volunteer) and coordinating the purchase of all county-owned vehicles

• Added a Kitchenette to the office spaces at the Logistics warehouse

Air shop

Provides the maintenance and repair of breathing apparatus, breathing air compressors, and cascade systems, including air quality testing and filling of cylinders and cascades.

• Provided internal specifications for the newly acquired Mobile Air Shop to be put in service

• Serviced and maintained the County's 7 Compressors (quarterly air samples and every six months oil/filter change)

• Calibration of QuantiFit machines (3) and PosiCheks machines (4)

• Provided support for Special Ops in arranging SCBA adapters for their Air Cart and their portable Trench Air Pack for better mobility

• Fit tested over 1300 career and volunteer personnel

• Maintenance and flow testing of 571 SCBA packs annually, also daily repairs to get frontline SCBA back to the field 

• Service Tickets are checked daily to promptly get SCBA back in service (over 1000 service tickets)

• Maintain and service Tango and Ventis monitors

• Revamped Training Academy SCBA prior to both Recruit Classes 

• Prior to the recruits' release to the field, rebuilt G1 facepieces as needed and flow tested for functionality

• In conjunction with IMD, continued to pilot the Bluetooth connection between the MSA G1 facepiece and portable radio for clearer radio communications in IDLH

• Maintained all county air cascade systems, both in-station and on squads