Changes are coming to several stations at Maryland’s Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
Starting July 13, MCFRS Chief Corey Smedley said career firefighters from the Hyattstown Volunteer Fire Department in Clarksburg will shift over to the Rockville-Aspen Hill area to meet increased calls for service there.
Asked about what happens to the Hyattstown community, Smedley told WTOP that the Hyattstown station will remain open, though staffed by volunteers. The new Clarksburg fire station, which opened in November of 2024, will also provide added coverage to the Hyattstown area.
“That station is state-of the art, with brand-new equipment,” Smedley said of the Clarksburg facility. “That was a $40 million investment to place that station in service.”
Members of the Hyattstown Volunteer Fire Department earlier expressed concerns during the county council’s budget deliberations regarding proposed staffing changes this spring.
In a letter to the community posted on the HVFD website, Jeffrey Gross, chief of the volunteer department, warned that the change could result in longer response times by emergency medical service and fire personnel.
While Gross said the station would remain open, he added, “there just won’t be 24/7 career staff. There are not enough volunteers to replace the career staff 24/7. Your need may go unanswered by Hyattstown,” he wrote in the April 9 letter.
Referring to the coverage from Clarksburg that will extend to Hyattstown, Smedley told WTOP, “Now, we believe that with the new Clarksburg station, that we can cover that station — that area — adequately.”
“Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to come out of there and not look at it ever,” he said. Smedley said his department will monitor the impact of the change “and where there’s challenges, we will make those appropriate adjustments like we do on a regular basis.”
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service has an operating budget of $310 million for fiscal year 2026, a 6% increase over the previous year’s budget.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
