With its number of emergency calls steadily increasing, Montgomery County’s largest and arguably most successful volunteer fire force is looking for 100 new volunteers this year.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, which was started in 1937, has in the past several decades expanded in every measure so that it now provides emergency service to about one-tenth of the county and has become a national model for volunteer fire organizations.

Kumar Vaswani, who has been with the squad for the past 20 years, said volunteers constantly cycle in and out of their roles but that now, more than ever, recruitment is key.

“We’re spending more time growing our organization,” he said, noting that the current number of volunteers is about 150. “The number of calls we’ve run keeps going up every year; we had 11,000 calls last year.”

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Those requests for help span from medical situations, like heart attacks, to motor vehicle accidents to activated alarm systems. The squad, part of the county’s fire service, has a large, downcounty turf that includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and even a small section of Northwest D.C.

According to Vaswani, the agency’s $1.4-million budget is entirely generated through private donations and fundraising.

“We just finished an annual door to door fundraising campaign which brings in over half of that budget,” he said. “We don’t use paid solicitors; our volunteers go to every house in our area, and we do mailings to apartment buildings. It’s very much a case of neighbors helping neighbors.”

As for the volunteers, they mainly come from the Bethesda and Chevy Chase neighborhoods. Vaswani said literally anyone can sign up, so long as they can make it through the usually yearlong rigorous training required and 12-hour weekly minimum mandated shift.

The minimum age of a volunteer is 16, but anyone under 18 would be admitted as part of the junior squad, unable to lead a rescue effort. Vaswani said there are members exceeding 60 years old, and their day jobs are as varied as the age range.

He personally joined out of a desire to help his hometown.

“It was almost like fulfilling a childhood dream,” Vaswani said.

To access the volunteer hotline, call 301-657-5557.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com