A Modern, People-First Vision for Public Safety

Baltimore County’s Fire and EMS Department is more than engines, ladders, ambulances and stations. At its core, it is people; highly trained men and women who run toward danger while others flee, who save lives in minutes that matter and who anchor the public’s trust in moments of crisis.

But the system supporting them is stuck in another era. Funding lags far behind peer jurisdictions. Training facilities are outdated. Collaboration with Baltimore City is nearly nonexistent. Morale has deteriorated across both career and volunteer ranks. And a generation of firefighters and medics is being asked to serve longer, with fewer benefits and fewer tools, than the job safely allows.

It’s time to modernize a department that has served this County with courage for decades—and to build a future that matches the caliber, dignity and professionalism of its people.

This is our commitment: a 5-year plan to double departmental resources, rebuild aging facilities, strengthen recruitment and retention, modernize operations and restore pride to a proud profession.

A Five-Year Plan for a Stronger, Safer County

Funding the Future

Baltimore County spends less per resident on fire and rescue than nearly every comparable jurisdiction in Maryland. Howard County— about one third our size—spends triple what we do per capita.

That gap comes at a cost: slower training pipelines, aging stations, overworked personnel and a shrinking applicant pool.

We will double the Fire Department’s funding within five years by leveraging:

• EMS transport revenues that already offset operational costs (currently the County redirects some of these monies elsewhere)
• Targeted local investments
• Public-private and regional partnerships
• Federal and State grants programs

This long-term commitment ensures our County is never again outcompeted for talent or unprepared for crisis.

Modernizing the Backbone of Safety

For decades, recruits and volunteers have trained in facilities that no longer meet the demands of modern fire service. There are no locker rooms or showers, classroom and scenario spaces are cramped, and parking is scarce. A 3,500-member system is supported by only a dozen full-time instructors, forcing class sizes so small that the department can’t keep pace with turnover or advancement needs.

Nick’s plan will:

• Public Safety Academy: Design and build a state-of-the-art Public Safety Academy that can train police, fire, and EMS under one roof.
• Increase Training Staff: Increase academy staff to 20–25 FTEs to ensure timely, professional advancement opportunities.
• Simulation Training: Integrate simulation technology used in top-performing global fire services.
• World Class Best Practices: Train concurrently across disciplines, reflecting best practices from Canada, Europe and Australia.

Firefighting has changed. Training and our facilities must change with it.

Modernizing Fleet & Infrastructure

Already there are efforts to rebuild the apparatus fleet with new engines, ladder trucks, rescues and medic units. Beyond supporting these efforts, we will:

• Modernized Operations: Reconfigure our station footprint and staffing model, moving beyond the outdated three-battalion structure
• Optimized Deployment: Introduce global best practices, including modular rescue units and data-driven deployment (used extensively abroad)
• Supporting the Volunteers: Make targeted investments in volunteer fire departments to ensure they have modern and upgraded fire apparatus and equipment.
• Optimized our EMS Deployments: Formulate a dispatch protocol that triages and prioritizes non-emergency medical calls to ensure EMS personnel are deployed optimally.
• Invest in our Volunteers: Some of the BCVFD stations are in serious need of investment and upgrade. Most notably, Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department has been operating out of a single-family home for too long. These public servants deserve better, and we can do better.

Every dollar invested in these modern tools is well worth it because these tools not only save the lives of our residents, but they protect our first responders and boost their morale.

Building a Fire Service That Attracts and Keeps the Best

Recruitment that Competes

Today’s applicant pool is shrinking nationwide. To hire the best, Baltimore County must become the employer of choice.

We will:

• Recruitment Office: Establish a dedicated Recruitment Office with 5–6 full-time staff
• Best and Brightest: Launch a countywide firefighter/EMT pipeline for young residents partnering with colleges, military transition programs and technical schools to identify potential candidates and create real opportunities for good jobs.
• Increase Volunteerism: Expand volunteer recruitment and support, including joint training and shared resources
• Stand by our First First Responders: We must support efforts at the County, State and Federal levels to reclassify dispatchers and emergency telecommunicators as public safety personnel, with pay aligned to police, fire and EMS

The message to future applicants must be clear: Baltimore County is where you build a career.

Retention that Respects the Profession

Firefighting is grueling, dangerous work. Asking responders to serve 30 years before retirement is out of step with industry norms and human limits.

We will:

• Fix our Retirement Benefits: Establish 25-year retirement eligibility with improved benefits
• Address Mental Health: Expand mental health and peer support programs
• More Careers and Pathways: Prioritize career ladders and special operations pathways—maritime fire, Urban Search and Rescue, technical rescue—that keep talent engaged and growing
• Expand Administration: Rebuild administrative capacity so innovation isn’t stalled by shortages behind the scenes
• Protect First Responders Time: Establish, in coordination with the health department, requirements for elder care and assisted living facilities to have licensed EMS personnel on staff rather than relying on 911 for non-emergency situations.

Rebuilding Our Relationship with Baltimore City

A region as interconnected as ours cannot afford fire and EMS systems that operate in isolation. Baltimore City and Baltimore County share borders, neighborhoods, transportation corridors, hospital networks, and emergency response patterns. Fires, overdoses, medical calls, and large-scale incidents do not stop at jurisdictional lines—and yet, for years, our collaboration has been minimal, inconsistent, or purely transactional.

We must restore a functional, modern partnership with Baltimore City by:

• Re-establishing joint training programs
• Aligning specialized rescue teams and mutual aid planning
• Exploring shared procurement opportunities
• Coordinating EMS and dispatch modernization

Together, both jurisdictions will save money, improve outcomes and strengthen regional resilience.

Restoring Honor, Pride & Morale

In the 1980s and 1990s, this department was one of the most respected in the state. Today, morale is in the basement—because too many leaders asked firefighters to do more with less for too long.

This plan changes that equation.

When we invest in people via modern equipment, competitive benefits, fair retirement and world-class training, morale doesn’t just improve; the entire community becomes safer, stronger, and more united.

The Next Chapter of Public Safety

Our firefighters and emergency medical professionals carry the weight of our most vulnerable moments. They deserve a department that serves them as faithfully as they serve us.

By modernizing training, rebuilding infrastructure, doubling funding, and restoring pride, we can build a department worthy of its people—and capable of meeting the future with strength.