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DC Fire & EMS is one of the most diverse fire and EMS Departments in the nation, with much higher percentages of women and African Americans than most departments. We are proud of our programs that empower women to lead and support the professional development of DC residents. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion DC Fire & EMS is one of the most diverse fire departments in the nation. The uniformed workforce is 48% African American, 33% DC residents (up from 27% in 2015), and 13% women (up from 11% in 2015). In contrast, nationally, 5% of firefighters are women and 8% are African American. Thank you from Camp Spark! In July 2024, the DC Fire & EMS Foundation co-sponsored Camp Spark, a two-day summer camp for girls aged 12 to 17 years old who are interested in becoming firefighters and EMS providers. This camp is part of the DC Fire & EMS Department's 30 by 30 goal -- increasing the Department's percentage of women in uniform to 30% by 2030. One of the Foundation's priorities is supporting the Department's workforce development and diversity. Hear from Camp Spark campers in this short video , followed by a thank you letter to the Foundation from the Department's Women's Advisory Council: Since 2015, DC Fire & EMS has made a concerted effort to hire and promote more women and DC residents, through programs like Empowering Women to Lead, the Women's Advisory Council , the Diversity Advisory Council, improving recruitment funding and staffing , and a new and more accessible entrance exam process . There are now women at every uniformed supervisor rank except assistant fire chief and fire chief. The Department provides diversity training to all employees and has a Racial Equity Action Plan.

DC Fire & EMS is aggressive about fighting and preventing fires. The Dept meets national standards for response times and fire suppression and has a robust community fire prevention and education program. #DC'S BRAVEST DC residents and businesses can count on #DC's Bravest to be there quickly to save lives and property. DC Firefighters arrive at fire scenes in 5 minutes and 20 seconds or less over 90% of the time , making them national leaders in meeting National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards. They also confine fires to the room of origin over 80% of the time, And they confine fires to the structure of origin over 95% of the time. Preventing Fire Fatalities Despite DC's Bravest's excellent record rescuing fire victims and preserving property, each year the District loses too many lives to fires, with an uptick in fire fatalities over the last few years. DC Fire & EMS works with the community to prevent these tragedies with its All Hands on Prevention and other programs. The Department has a strong Fire Prevention Division that on an annual basis conducts over 12,000 building inspections, investigates almost 200 arsons, installs over 3,000 smoke alarms, and conducts hundreds of fire safety education sessions for kids, seniors, and other residents and business owners. Learn More Learn More Safe Staffing D C Fire & EMS is fortunate to have the NFPA recommend ed staffing levels on its fire appara tus . While this staffing has been redu ced in other jurisdictions, as well as in DC during economic downturns in the past, DC fully staffs its apparatus. T he DC Fire & EMS Foundation supports maintaining current staffing levels for the safety of our firefighters and residents.

Contact us with questions, support, donations, or feedback about the DC Fire & EMS Foundation. The Foundation's Address: 122 Kentucky Ave, SE Washington, DC 20003 CONTACT US Name Email Subject Message Submit Thanks for submitting! Join our mailing list Email* Subscribe I want to subscribe to your mailing list.

< Back Balchander Jayaraman Board Co-Chair Mr. Jayaraman is currently President of Strategic Education Consulting, LLC, a minority-owned small business in the District of Columbia. His company creates emergency response and evacuation plans and training for District government agencies, schools, and residential buildings, as well as business continuity plans for private companies, and non-profits. He has specialized expertise in planning for the safe sheltering and evacuation of people with disabilities. Before starting his own company in 2010, Mr. Jayaraman was Project Director at Inclusion Research Institute, a non-profit research organization. He managed projects that increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities, increased voter participation in elections, and improved the preparedness of people nationwide through the development of an innovative Fire-safety planner and Readiness Action planner. Outside of work, Mr. Jayaraman has a distinctive track record as a civic activist, an elected official, and a top candidate in the DC Council At-Large race in 2020. He recently completed serving his fifth term as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) 6B, representing the Capitol Hill/Hilleast areas of Ward 6. He currently serves as an alumni board representative of Jenkins Hill Child Development Center, and DC Doors, a local non-profit that helps people secure permanent, stable housing. He is on the board of Capitol Hill Little League and also serves as an Umpire for the League. Mr. Jayaraman was born in Bangalore, India and moved to Overland Park, KS at the age of ten. He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School the University of Kansas. He moved to the District of Columbia in 1995 and lives in Ward 6 with his wife and son.

< Back Steve Blivess Board Treasurer Before focusing his efforts on labor relations, Steve worked as an attorney in multiple capacities. While with the D.C. Office of Risk Management, he served as acting general counsel and provided guidance to the chief risk officer for the District of Columbia. He was an assistant attorney general with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General where he represented the District in contract cases before the D.C. Contract Appeals Board and the D.C. Superior Court. He also spent nine years in private practice and as an assistant corporation counsel in New York City. For five years, he worked as an adjunct professor at The George Washington School of Law where he taught legal research and writing. For the last seven years, Steve has worked in legal and labor relations, including four years as the senior labor relations specialist for the District of Columbia and assistant attorney general for D.C. Fire and Emergency Services. He then worked for the Montgomery County Government as a labor relations manager and acting chief labor relations officer prior to spending the last year and half as the director of labor relations and lead negotiator for Montgomery County Public Schools. Blivess obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Speech Communication from Penn State University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. When not practicing law and labor relations work, Steve enjoys watching baseball and spending time with his son and family.

< Back Tommy Wells Board Member Tommy started his career in the District working as a social worker for the District's child protective services agency. He served as Director of the DC Consortium for Child Welfare from 1991 to 2006 and as an ANC 6B Commissioner from 1995 to 2000. In 2001, he was elected to represent Wards 5 and 6 on the DC School Board. He served as the Ward 6 from 2006 to 2014; during his tenure he chaired the Committee on the Judiciary. He then joined the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser as the Director of the Department of Energy & Environment for eight years, followed by a year as Director of the Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs. He retired from DC government service in 2023.

Photo by Matt Ackland, Fox5 A National Leader in Emergency Medical Services DC Fire & EMS is the 3rd largest health care provider in DC. Their employees respond to 400 to 500 medical calls for service per day. These calls range from cardiac arrests, strokes, heart attacks, and traumatic injuries to cold viruses, trips and falls, and mental health emergencies. Prepared for All Hazards All DC Fire & EMS first responders are medically trained as nationally registered Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) or paramedics. That’s why you often see fire trucks responding to medical calls. Our paramedics administer life saving medications and other interventions, including intubation and needle decompression. 21 of 33 engine companies are paramedic engine companies, which means that if you are having a life-threatening emergency, you can have a paramedic and team of EMTs at your door in 4 to 6 minutes who will start treatment while the ambulance is on the way. Photo by Eliot Goodman @DCFIREBYE Our Innovations DC Fire & EMS is national leader in diverting non-emergency injuries and illnesses from EMS and hospital systems to primary care with its 2018 launch of the Right Care, Right Now Nurse Triage Line . In 2023, the Department partnered with the Department of Behavioral Health to open the DC Stabilization Center to better care for patients with substance abuse disorder. In 2024, Washington, DC became the largest city to give blood transfusions in the field to trauma and other patients in danger of bleeding to death, helping to drive the city's homicide rate down. DC Fire & EMS is on the front lines of the nation’s health care crisis – and they are part of the solution. Hands on Hearts The Department's Hands on Hearts program has trained over 100,000 people in hands only CPR. An increase in bystander CPR has contributed to the District of Columbia's improved cardiac arrest survival rate since 2015.

Hello This is your About Page. It's a great opportunity to give a full background on who you are, what you do, and what your website has to offer. Double click on the text box to start editing your content and make sure to add all the relevant details you want to share with site visitors. My Story This is your About page. This space is a great opportunity to give a full background on who you are, what you do and what your site has to offer. Your users are genuinely interested in learning more about you, so don’t be afraid to share personal anecdotes to create a more friendly quality. Every website has a story, and your visitors want to hear yours. This space is a great opportunity to provide any personal details you want to share with your followers. Include interesting anecdotes and facts to keep readers engaged. Double click on the text box to start editing your content and make sure to add all the relevant details you want site visitors to know. If you’re a business, talk about how you started and share your professional journey. Explain your core values, your commitment to customers and how you stand out from the crowd. Add a photo, gallery or video for even more engagement. Contact I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect. info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

St. Dominics Catholic Church, 630 E Street, SW, site of Capt. Brown's funeral

< Back Larissa Bergin Board Secretary Larissa works with clients in a variety of industries, including the technology, health care, retail, and pharmaceutical sectors. Many of Larissa's clients have international reach, and she has been involved in matters that require advocacy before governments throughout Asia, the EU, and North America. At the start of her career, Larissa clerked at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, where she addressed intellectual property, tax, and government contract issues, including Serco, Inc. v. United States (also referred to as the Alliant protest), a bid-protest case involving a $50 billion procurement for government-wide information technology and services. Larissa is a member of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association and is chair of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She is a Ward 1 resident and admitted in the New York, Connecticut, and District of Columbia bars.

2025 Annual Report

DC Fire & EMS Foundation supports the Department and its heroic members with resources for training, employee wellness and recognition initiatives, and state of the art equipment and facilities. How Your Investment Helps The DC Fire & EMS Foundation raises funds to support first responder wellness and recognition, training and leadership development, innovation, facilities and equipment. It also educates the community about the Department's life-saving mission. 93% of the Department's budget funds operations, leaving only 1% of the non-personnel budget for training and less than 2% for non-capital equipment and facilities maintenance. The Foundation supplements the Department's needs that are not included in its municipal budget. First Responder Wellness and Recognition Firefighters and EMS personnel are at increased risk for cardiac conditions, infectious disease, cancer, mental illness, and substance abuse. The daily and cumulative stress and sacrifice of their jobs takes its toll. The DC Fire & EMS Foundation supports the safety and well being of DC Fire & EMS employees and their families through an emergency fund for those in health crises. It supports the Department's peer support team, provides wellness programming, and sponsors the Department's Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner. Training & Leadership Development Strong leadership has been key to the Department’s recent progress. Through its work with the Department’s Women’s Advisory Council (WAC), the Foundation co-sponsored the Heroes Haven wellness and leadership event for female firefighters, as well as the annual Camp Spark!, a two-day summer camp for girls aged 12 to 17 years old who are interested in becoming firefighters and EMS providers. In 2025, the Foundation funded an executive coach to work with the Fire Chief and his executive leadership team to facilitate teamwork, individual growth, and a solid leadership bench for the future of the agency. Innovation The Foundation funds research to further its vision to empower the Department to continue to be a national leader in each of its disciplines. We have funded EMS internships in the Office of the Medical Director for two summers. In 2025, in partnership with Children's National Hospital and the Doris Duke Foundation, the interns conducted research on racial equity in the treatment of pain, STEMI (heart attack) care and coordination with hospitals, buprenorphine induction for opioid overdose patients, and mental health treatment. Community Education Every spring, the Foundation’s Executive Director, Amy Mauro, testifies about the Department’s proposed budget. Underfunding of the Department in the past risked the public’s and firefighters’ safety, and we advocate to ensure we never return to those days. The Foundation also works on projects that educate the community on the Department's life-saving mission, its history, and its members' sacrifice, Examples of this work include the Foundation's grant-funded website https://www.dcfireem shistory.org/ The Memorial Helmet Project, and The 100th Anniversary of the Last Run of the Horses Equipment & Facilities Most DC Fire & EMS personnel work 24 hour shifts out of fire houses that serve as their workplace and home. Their facility needs are unique compared to other DC agencies. The Department's Training Academy campus is outdated for the Department's current operations and is in need of significant modernization and repair. The DC Fire & EMS Foundation advocates for providing personnel with state of the art equipment and facilities so that they can provide the best service commensurate with the high priority Departmental mission of saving lives.