Sad to say, a few years after the last comment from a former board member volunteer, the Bethesda Fire Department, Inc. (BFD) hasn't changed much. I, too, have given up trying to cause reformation as a board member. BFD still has lots of money, still asks for contributions trading on its "fire department" name despite not actually being one for the last quarter century, except legally, and still does little to nothing for the community that created it. All BFD is today is its entrenched board members who revel in memories of BFD glory days and perpetuate some personal goodies based on yet other confusion with State law. There has not been an organized commitment or even an objective for community benefit for years. I believe this company is corrupt with a small "c." No villains, evil geniuses or crimes, but a nearly complete displacement of the community benefit purpose of this public trust company by the personal interests of fewer than a dozen individuals.
Review from Guidestar
I was a member of the Bethesda Fire Department Board of Directors until recently. My participation on that Board lasted several years and as a result I am very familiar with that organization’s purpose, role, financial status, and current contributions to the fire suppression efforts within the Bethesda, MD community. I find this organization's fund raising methods to be misleading at their best and duplicitous at their worst. For the Bethesda Fire Department to say things in the fund drive to the people of its community such as: We need your generous contributions to continue offering you the best possible fire protection, is wrong. The BFD has not had firefighters responding to emergency calls out of any stations since the 1970’s. It has not been a volunteer fire department/organization in more then half a century. I think it was in 1978 that the BFD was dismantled and the County (MCFRS) took over the staffing, training, certifications, equipping, and recruiting of 100% of the firefighters at the 3 BFD stations. When reading their call for donations material, a reasonable person would assume that the BFD was responsible for and actively participating in fire suppression and EMS responses. This could not be further from the truth.