Fairfax County’s emergency services support a population over more than one million citizens within 395 square miles. The emergency services are comprised of police forces, trained fire fighters, ambulance services, and several others.
The Fairfax County Police Department has been in existence since 1940, and is comprised of three separate divisions. The Patrol Division oversees Animal Control, the Youth Services Division, detectives for property crimes, and maintains the district stations. The Investigation/Operation Division is comprised of the Motorcycle Squad, SWAT, the K-9 section, EOD, the Helicopter Unit, the Crime Scene Section, and detectives for major crimes. The Administration Division includes the Criminal Justice Academy, Central Records, the property room, and the Public Information office.
Fairfax County’s Fire and Rescue Services have several different focuses, including fire suppression, hazardous materials handling, water rescue, technical rescue, emergency medical services, life safety education, fire prevention, and arson investigative units. The Fire and Rescue Services can expect to answer almost 100,000 emergency calls per year, with the majority of those being Emergency Medical Services calls.
In addition to stellar police, fire, and rescue services, Fairfax County is home to several award-winning hospitals and medical centers. With so many colleges and universities in the area, many are teaching hospitals and attract some of the top doctors and nurses from around the world for permanent positions or interim agreements.
The hospitals and medical centers, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows: Access Emergency Hospital in Vienna, Burke Medical Center in Fairfax, DeWitt Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Dominion Hospital in Annandale, Fair Oaks Medical Plaza in Herndon, Inova Commonwealth Car Center in Fairfax, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Annandale, Inova Fairfax Hospital in Mount Vernon, and Reston Hospital Center in Reston.
Many of the surrounding communities are seeking volunteers for fire and rescue stations. You would receive top-notch emergency and medical training, which would allow you to join the front lines during fire and medical emergencies. The administration offices of these volunteer organizations can always use help keeping the volunteer departments operational. Consider donating your time to helping save the lives of others. It can be a rewarding experience.
While there are separate phone numbers for each of the emergency services departments, the only number you really need to know in an emergency is 911. Please remember that this number is for emergencies only, and misuse of the number could put others’ lives in danger.
