PRINCE FREDERICK — Five of Calvert County’s volunteer fire, rescue and EMS companies are getting help from the county to pay for apparatus, after the Board of County Commissioners approved a set of Department of Public Safety apparatus grants on Oct. 20.
The grants went to:
- Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Company 5
- Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department, Company 2
- Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department, Company 3
- St. Leonard Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, Company 7
- Calvert Advanced Life Support, for Medic 103
The five grants were the first items on a 23-item consent agenda that commissioners approved in a single vote without discussion of the grants. The grant amounts and the apparatus each company is buying were not read aloud at the meeting.
Calvert relies on volunteer companies, supported by career staff in the Department of Public Safety, to cover fire, rescue and EMS calls across the county, and replacing engines, rescue units and medic units is among the largest costs those companies face. The approvals follow other recent equipment additions; this month, the county’s rescue dive team added a sonar-equipped rescue boat, and in 2025 Southern Maryland departments secured $124,000 in federal funds.
What else passed on consent
The same vote approved a range of other spending and grant items, including:
- A three-year salt use agreement between the Department of Public Works and the State Highway Administration.
- A fiscal 2027 Program Open Space application to replace the restroom at Dunkirk District Park, and a separate Program Open Space application for pathways and lighting at Hallowing Point Park.
- A budget amendment for a Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure grant to renovate the basketball court at Hallowing Point Park.
- A budget amendment for HVAC and roof replacement at the Edward T. Hall Aquatic Center, and a budget adjustment for the Calvert County Historical Society roof restoration.
- The county’s annual stormwater permit report under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
- Child support cooperative reimbursement agreements for the Sheriff’s Office, the State’s Attorney’s Office and Circuit Court, and a fiscal 2027 home visiting agreement for high-risk mothers.
- A Department of Economic Development letter supporting Bold Mark Steel Industry LLC’s application for a Maryland Economic Development Corp. site characterization grant.
Before the vote, one commissioner remarked on the volume of reading, noting a 226-page report that arrived two days before the meeting. Commissioners then approved the full consent agenda.
