Volunteer as an Operational Member of AVFRD!

Ready for a challenge?  Become a volunteer firefighter or an EMT in Ashburn!

Who Can be Operational?

The men and women in our operational ranks come from all walks of life.  Our membership includes community members with diverse cultural, religious and professional backgrounds.  We are IT professionals, parents, nurses, mechanics, students, clergy, soldiers and more.  We all share a common goal of strenthening our community and helping our neighbors in their time of need.

Core Requirements

  • Be at least 16 years of age (16-17 for Junior Members, 18 and over for regular membership)
  • No past training or experience required
  • Be able to pass a criminal background check
  • Be able to pass a full physical (not required for Support Services)

The operational staff at AVFRD includes our volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services personnel (EMTs and paramedics).  In Ashburn, our Operational Volunteers staff the 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. shift (Loudoun County career staff cover the 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. shift and provide a 24-hour Advanced Life Support (ALS) crew). We have duty crews that run Sunday night through Friday night.  Saturdays are covered on a rotating basis by the Sunday through Friday volunteer crews. On Saturdays, crews are expected to arrive at 12 p.m. to get in extra training time and assist with recruitment and community outreach efforts.  New operational recruits are assigned to a duty crew after completing Volunteer Recruit School (VRS). In addition to serving on a duty crew, each operational member is required to participate in other department activities that provide education and interaction with the community and help us raise funds.

Operational volunteers are assigned to a duty crew based on day-of-the-week (Sunday through Friday).  Saturdays are covered on a rotating basis by the Sunday through Friday volunteer crews. On Saturdays, crews are expected to arrive at 12 p.m. to get in extra training time and assist with recruitment and community outreach efforts.  New operational recruits are assigned to a duty crew after completing Volunteer Recruit School (VRS).  In addition to serving on a duty crew, each operational member is required to participate in other department activities that provide education and interaction with the community and help us raise funds.