Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Comprehensive Equity Assessment (In Progress)

MCFRS

BACKGROUND

Montgomery County (Maryland) is a majority-minority jurisdiction with over one million people. It is the most affluent and populous jurisdiction of Maryland. The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) provides maximum protection of lives, property, and the environment. MCFRS employs approximately 1,200 career firefighters, 900 active volunteer firefighters, and 82 professional staff members. The FY21 budget was $224,995,408 with budgeted overtime costs of $18.3 million.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

MCFRS will require new skills and approaches to respond to the diversifying community it serves. MCFRS and the Montgomery County Government contracted with the Academy to provide a comprehensive equity assessment of the MCFRS. The Academy will:

1. Review the hiring, training, promotional, and evaluation practices/processes of the MCFRS.
2. Review the understanding and knowledge of all MCFRS personnel on community characteristics, and the culture and diversity that exists.
3. Administer an anonymous survey to all MCFRS personnel (career and volunteer) to identify disparities in achieving fair and equitable outcomes for all.
4. Review the MCFRS external citizen complaint process looking for patterns or trends in citizen complaints, case processing, and outcomes.
5. Review the impact of emergency service delivery and non-emergency calls for service in diverse communities.