Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Ending Service To D.C.

BETHESDA, MD — The Bethesda Chevy-Chase Rescue Squad has been responding to calls from Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Upper Northwest D.C. since 1937, but beginning in the new year those D.C. residents will need to call 9-1-1 for emergency medical service.

The change is coming after looking at the response data and the region's emergency services — BCCRS says that DC Fire and EMS assured them that they were capable of handling District emergencies.

“The rapid technological evolution of the last few decades has made it financially and operationally impossible for us to maintain an emergency phone line that can provide the same level of service as a modern emergency communications center like those operated by the District and by Montgomery County,” said BCCRS Chief Edward “Ned” Sherburne in a news release. “We made this decision not because it’s what the Rescue Squad would like to do, but because it is in the best interests of the DC residents we have served and the regional EMS system as a whole.”

The emergency response abilities of D.C. Fire and EMS Department and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service have increased in recent years, BCCRS said in the release, and BCCRS is often not the closest to an emergency.

“The Rescue Squad is committed to ensuring the best possible service to our communities, including the areas of Northwest Washington that we have served for more than 80 years,”said Sherburne. “As someone who was raised in the District and has more than four decades of service with the Rescue Squad, I have always been proud of our service to these communities. But the evidence made it clear that this is what is best for individuals who need emergency care and for the entire community.”

The switch begins on Jan. 1, 2022, BCCRS said.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct name of the BCCRS. It was incorrectly written as BCCFRS.