About Us

The Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department is a volunteer department that serves the South Carroll communities of Sykesville and Eldersburg and surrounding neighborhoods. Established in 1933, the department provides quality fire and emergency medical services to its residents, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide mutual aid assistance to Baltimore, Howard and Frederick counties, when requested. The department also works alongside the Carroll County Department of Fire and EMS, which provides career staffing in the station.

The Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department is the second-busiest department in Carroll County, and is equivalent in population to the city of Westminster. The department is served by volunteer firefighters, EMS personnel and administrative personnel. Though the department receives partial funding by the Carroll County Government, it relies heavily on community financial support to meet its mission. As the population continues to grow, equipment and supplies become more expensive and call volumes increase. 

To give you an idea of the operating costs of the department, the price of an average medic unit is $225,000, a fire engine can cost $700,000 or more, and specialty pieces such as rescue squads or tower trucks can be more than $1,000,000. That does not include the amount of money on equipment and tools that have to be placed on those vehicles, which can be tens of thousands of additional dollars.

The department enjoys very generous support from the community through several fund-raising efforts, including an annual letter drive, the annual carnival, Legacy Hall rentals, weekly bingo and other special fund raising events. We continue to be grateful for the support.

We have a state-of-the-art facility that provides housing for our equipment, living space for our members, administrative offices, classroom/training space and a best-in-class community event space in our Legacy Hall. Our classrooms are also available for use by community groups, upon request.

The Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department has an open door policy. We welcome the opportunity to meet with local organizations, HOAs, or groups that would like know more about the department and its mission.

Thank you very much for your continued support of our department. We are here if you need us.