Rockville Volunteer Fire Department seeks continued and expanded city support in FY26

Leaders of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department told the council on March 17 that volunteers provide substantial emergency response capacity and asked for continued and expanded support reflected in the manager’s recommended FY2026 budget.

Eric Bernard, president of the volunteer department, presented a delegation of volunteer officers and board members and described the department’s composition and service. Bernard said volunteers contributed roughly 120,000 hours of standby service last year and staff the city’s engines, ladder and ambulance units alongside career personnel dispatched through Montgomery County.

Budget ask and items noted in the recommended budget: Bernard identified an ongoing $12,000 line item that helps offset operational costs and highlighted a proposed $250,000 allocation in the recommended FY2026 budget to support apparatus replacement and heavy-equipment purchases. He described the department's apparatus replacement program and said a single rescue squad can cost over $2 million.

Council reaction: council members thanked volunteers and acknowledged the requested funding; staff noted the recommended budget includes the $250,000 transfer to the Special Activities Fund to support the Volunteer Fire Department’s apparatus program.

Why it matters: the volunteer force supplements Rockville’s career emergency services and provides multilingual and multicultural community response; the requested funding is aimed at sustaining equipment and long‑term readiness.

No final action beyond inclusion in the manager’s recommended budget was recorded on March 17; final funding will be determined during the council’s budget adoption process.