Planning and Accreditation Section

Melissa Schulze

Manager
Office: (240) 773-5019
Melissa.Schulze@montgomerycountymd.gov

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Planning and Accreditation Section is an organizational unit within the Office of the Fire Chief, comprised of the Section Manager, Geographic Information System (GIS) Manager, and the Accreditation Manager (contractor).

The mission of the MCFRS Planning Section is to provide comprehensive planning, analytical, GIS, departmental assessment, accreditation management and related services to assist the department in meeting its overall mission.

Core Services:

  • Master/strategic planning services include review and revision of the Fire, Rescue, EMS, and Community Risk Reduction Master Plan, recommendation of amendments to the Master Plan, rewriting of the Master Plan at required intervals, and tracking of Master Plan implementation. A related planning function is preparation of the Annual Strategic Plan for Implementation of Master Plan Priorities. An important element of the planning function is seeking input from MCFRS and community stakeholders and incorporating that input into the Master Plan and Annual Strategic Plan.
  • Assessment services include oversight and coordination of the development and quarterly updating of MCFRS performance measures and the department’s Turn the Curve Agreement with the County’s Chief Administrative Officer. In addition, assessment services include oversight and management of MCFRS’ compliance with accreditation requirements/criteria set forth by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) in order to maintain the department’s accreditation status.
  • Analytical services include facility and resource allocation studies; fire-rescue risk assessment; incident frequency, distribution, and trend analysis; response time analysis; identification of needs/gaps in emergency services coverage; and related services.
  • GIS services include provision of GIS-based maps, pictometry, charts, and spreadsheets to assist in the analysis of incident frequency and distribution (past history and forecasting), response time coverage and trends, demographic trends, resource allocation, new station siting, and other areas of operational and strategic interest to the department.