While the plan has little direct authority, it is an expression of our intention for the future and provides guidance to accomplish that vision.

The Fire/Rescue & EMS Master Plan is the document that elected officials, planning officials and the fire service use as the starting point for conversations about fire, rescue and emergency medical services in the County. The Master Plan is not binding, but it is still a very important part of the conversation because it provides guidance about the future.  This website is just an overview of how we think about ourselves and how we are thinking about the Master Plan. To see a more detailed explanation please use the download link at the bottom of this page. The benefits for having a plan include:

1. Consistency in decision making. The plan gives decision makers a point of reference for taking action.

2. Ability to make informed decisions. The plan provides facts on existing conditions and trends, enabling decision makers to better understand the impact of their decisions.

3. A framework for prioritization. The plan includes information from different departments and sources to be used in deciding and prioritizing which actions to take.

The purpose of MCFRS is to assure adequate public safety, health and welfare through an integrated fire, rescue, and emergency medical services program that is highly competent, highly trained, efficiently delivered, equitably administered and is provided by County, local fire and rescue department, and volunteer personnel. 

We took a guess at what YOU expect from your fire/rescue and emergency medical services. Use the [feedback form] to tell us what we got right and/or what we got wrong. We think that you expect us to:

1. Treat you and your property with respect

2. Be experts in our work

3. Provide elected officials with a range of valid options

4. Be aware of what matters in the communities we serve

5. Be good stewards of your tax money

We want to provide world class service. 

It is still our job to think hard about the how we protect people and their property from fires, how we rescue them from other dangers, how we educate them to prevent fires and injuries and most importantly how we provide expert medical care when it is needed.  

The world, and our County, is presenting us with new problems and more complexity? If that is true, and we believe that it is, we have to adapt to the change. 

Our old thinking focused on deciding where to build a new fire station, even though resource constraints prevent us from building new fire stations. Our old thinking focused on response times, even though we know that just being fast is not enough.  

Our new thinking is about having the right ideas in place and about having the tools we need to notice change early. We believe that if we have the right tools to notice change early we will also have more time to react (adapt) to that change. Our old thinking was about the fire department. 

Our new thinking is about a broad spectrum of emergency services that work together (good relationships) with other agencies like public health and emergency management. The old plan did not focus on racial equity, the new plan is based around ideas of racial equity. While the old plan was about accurately predicting the future, the new plan is about building a system that can be successful in whichever future emerges. 

Our mission and vision have not changed. What we want to change is how we express our mission and vision. The changes are designed to:

• Reduce barriers to understanding

• Foster a more adaptable mindset 

• Introduce the idea of adding community value  as a driving force 

Current Mission Statement: The Mission of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service is to protect lives, property and the environment with comprehensive risk reduction programs and safe and effective emergency response provided by highly skilled career and volunteer service providers representing the County’s diverse population.

Current Vision Statement: The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service vision is to enhance public safety and support quality of life through direct immersion in our communities, effectively blending outreach and education, and by leveraging our career and volunteer workforce to deliver exceptional services and improve our resiliency to meet increased challenges.

• Novelty.  We are expecting to see new problems. New technologies are a benefit but they can also come with some downsides. This can be as dramatic as a hacker disrupting the electrical grid, turning off the oxygen supply for the home bound dependent on oxygen. This can be as simple as a rash of fires caused by improper disposal of batteries. 

• Complexity.  Our world is highly connected. It is not hard to imagine events that can also disrupt our ability to  respond. We must be prepared for complex challenges. 

• Uncertainty. The world is changing quickly. Much of our future operations will require us to be able to act despite uncertainty. 

• Resource pressure. We assume that we will be under pressure to reduce costs and/or adjust to unforeseen economic uncertainty. . There will be tremendous pressure for MCFRS and the whole of government to reduce cost while maintaining value.  Resource pressure can also spur innovation, which is exactly what we want to do. 

• A Continued Focus on Racial Equity. In order to make progress on equity, we need to build our capacity to understand, rely on partnerships, and use data to guide our work. 

Build Capacity to Understand Racial Equity. We need to work towards a meaningful approach to equity. 

Build Community Resilience. We believe that both equity and risk are correlated to social vulnerability and that if we can help to increase individual and community resilience we can reduce vulnerability and risk.  

Build Adaptive Structures. We believe that future space will require us to be more nimble and dynamic in our response to a changing operational context. 

Fostering Relationships. We will not be able to fully express our mission without effective engagement with partners. 

• Be Able to Notice. Configure our systems in such a way that we can notice changes in context

• Be Able to Relate. Develop a capacity for effective communication of information

• Be Able to Adapt. Have the capacity to adapt to change in response to what we notice

• Do No Harm. Do not add to the community burden