Frequent Asked Questions:

1) What is the phone number to the station? (410) 535-3331

2) What is the physical address of the station? 4030 Old Town Road; Huntingtown MD, 20639

3) What is the mailing address of the station? P.O. Box 482; Huntingtown MD, 20639 or P.O. Box 987; Huntingtown MD, 20639 (for donations and the annual classic corvette contest)

4) How many paid Firefighters and/or EMT's work at the Huntingtown VFD? None. Calvert County is the ONLY county left in the state of Maryland that is protected by 100% Volunteers.

5) As an all volunteer county, how often do you fail to respond on an emergency call? The Huntingtown VFD has not "scratched" (failed to respond) on a call since May 2007.

6) How many calls per year does your department respond to? In 2013, the Huntingtown VFD responded to 2,401 emergency calls. All of the departments in Calvert County responded to a total of 19,304 emergency calls in 2013.

7) What are the eligibilty requirements to join the department as a member? Any person 16 years and older is eligibile for membership. A cadet is one from the ages of 14 or 15 who is interested in becoming a member of the department when they reach the age of 16.

8) Where do I pick up an application to join the department? You can stop by the station and pick one up or click here: Membership Application. Once you've filled the application out, bring it back to the station and drop off to any member. They will leave it in the Membership Committee's mailbox. The Membership Committee Chairperson will contact you within a few days.

9) What are the requirements once I become a member? Once your application is turned in, you will "tabled" for a period of 30 days at the next business meeting. These meetings are held the 1st Thursday of every month at 8 pm. During your 30 day tabling period, it's important that you come around the station so the membership becomes familiar with you. At the next business meeting (after your 30 day tabling period), the membership will vote on you becoming a probationary member. Once voted into the department, you will serve a 1-year probationary period. During this time period, you are required to complete Firefighter I or the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course.

10) What occurs after I complete my probationary period? At the end of your 1-year probationary period, the membership will vote on you again. If you are under the age of 18 years old, they will vote on you becoming a junior member. If you are over the age of 18 years old, you will be voted on becoming an Active Senior Member. As an Active Senior Member, you hold a vote during all business meetings. To remain an Active Senior Member, you must attend 6 business meetings a year (12 meetings occur a year), attend 6 drills (approximately 40-50 drills occur a year), respond to 100 emergency calls a year (in 2013, we responded to 2,401 calls) OR participate on a duty crew and complete 50 collateral hours a year.

11) Besides the emergency calls, what occurs on a daily basis inside of the department? Our membership stays very busy! Usually Monday's are reserved for different meetings that the leadership of the department attends on a local, county or state wide level. Every Wednesday at 7 pm, Bingo is held in the Hall at Huntingtown (2nd floor of the station) and is run by the members. Every Thursday at 7:30 pm (with the exception of the business meeting which is held at 8 pm on the 1st Thursday of the month), the members "drill" (in-house training). The 2nd Thursday of the month is a Fire drill. The 3rd Thursday of the month is an EMS drill and a Rescue drill is held the 4th Thursday of the month.

12) How much will it cost me to become trained as a Firefighter or EMT? None! The training comes to you at no-cost. In addition to the Firefighter I and EMT training, there are hundreds of classes you can take and become certified in, for free! The majority of these classes are eligibile for college credits towards your Fire Science degree! Training is provided through the University of Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute (MFRI), http://mfri.org/.

13) What are the benefits to joining the department? Calvert County takes pride in the benefits that are offered to our Volunteer Firefighters & EMT's. It is one of the reasons we are the only county left in the state that is 100% Volunteer. Department's across the country have attempted to model our program!

Click on the following benefits for additional information:

• Daycare Benefit Program
• College Tuition Assistance Program
• Local Businesses Incentive Discount Program
• Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP)
• House Keys for Employees Program (HK4E)
• High School Recruit Program (In one year, members in high school complete EMT, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Rescue Technician, Hazardous Materials Operations, Engine Company Operations, Truck Company Operations, Building Construction classes and National Incident Management System (NIMS) training
• Discounted Life Insurance: The Maryland State Firemen's Association (MSFA) provides discounted life insurance and financial planning services for its members.
• State Income Tax Benefit. The State of Maryland provides an income tax benefit to fire, rescue, and EMS personnel with three years of active service. It also provides a subtraction or deduction modification of $3,500 for individuals who serve in a volunteer capacity and qualify for active duty service during that tax year.

14) When can I burn leaves and debris at my residence? You can burn any time after 4 pm, seven days a week EXCEPT during the Calvert County Burn Ban, which lasts from June 1 through September 1 every year AND in locations where there are “Burn Ordinances”, such as the beaches. You must burn away from wooded areas or structures and you must have a water supply nearby. Fires must be attended at all times and must be put out by midnight. Notify the Calvert Control Center, 410-535- 3491, prior to conducting controlled burns in case someone calls 9-1-1 stating that they see smoke in your area.

15) Who do I contact about renting the Hall at Huntingtown for a wedding, event, etc.? Visit, http://www.hallathuntingtown.com/ for more information.

16) Who do I contact about touring the station or having a firetruck visit my daycare, school, etc.? Call the station, (410) 535-3331 and request to speak to somebody from the Fire Prevention & Public Education Committee. If none are available, please leave a message.

17) Can we hold a child's birthday party at the station? Absolutely. Contact the Facilties Manager, Carole Fonfara. Office: 410-535-4439, Mobile: 410-610-4404, Email: huntingtownvfd6@comcast.net.

18) How do I get a copy of a fire incident or medical incident report? If the fire incident occurred at your residence or you are the patient requesting a medical incident report, contact the station and ask to speak to the Fire Chief. If unavailable, please leave a message. If the fire incident didn't occur at your residence and you are not the patient requesting the medical incident report, a subpoena is required.

19) How many square miles does the Huntingtown VFD protect? The Huntingtown VFD has the largest first-due primary response area in the county, of 50 square miles. Because of our location in the county, we regularly respond, providing automatic mutual aid to the North Beach VFD, Dunkirk VFD, Prince Frederick VFD, Prince Frederick VRS, St. Leonard VFD, Deale VFD (Anne Arundel County), Harwood-Lothian FD (Anne Arundel County) & Benedict VFD (Charles County).

20) What is the best fire extinguisher for home use? There are a few different types of fire extinguishers. We suggest that you go to your local hardware store and view the extinguishers for home use.

21) Where should smoke detectors be placed in my home? Residential smoke detectors are early warning devices to wake a sleeping person or persons. Smoke detectors should be placed in each bedroom (sleeping area) and in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

22) What is an ISO rating and how does it affect my homeowner's insurance?

• For many years, the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) has evaluated and rated the fire protection provided in communities. The system is called the ISO Public Protection Classification program (PPC). The PPC process grades a community's fire protection on a scale of 1-10, based on ISO's PPC evaluations as a factor in setting the premiums they charge for property insurance; the better the community's PPC grade, the lower the premiums the insurance company would charge for property insurance in that community.
• The Huntingtown VFD is currently an ISO Class 7 rated fire department. The rating provides the citizens of Huntingtown with value insurance rates for both residential and commercial property owners. Prior to 2010, the Huntingtown VFD was an ISO Class 9. After years of hard work, the rating was changed. As a result, citizens and businesses saw a 15%-30% drop ($200-$350) in their annual homeowner’s or business insurance costs because of this re-classification.
• An ISO rating is based on a communities water supply (40%), equipment (26%), Personnel (15%), Alarm and dispatch (10%), and training (9%).