Only 15 officers have advanced to hold the rank of Fire Chief in the 70 year history of the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department.

The 15th Chief of Company 15 was elected Wednesday night (December 20). Michael G. Ryman was elected Fire Chief and will assume that role on January 1, 2018.

For the past year, Chief Ryman held the rank of Assistant Chief and Senior Operational Officer. He joined the BVFD on June 7, 2010 as an experienced firefighter from Pennsylvania. He immediately began to complete additional training classes and became a “live in” Member in December of 2010. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on November 19, 2012.

Training remained a focus area for Chief Ryman, both in seeking new and advanced courses to take and serving as the Department’s Training Officer. On April 23, 2015 he was promoted to the rank of Captain. During his tenure with the BVFD, Chief Ryman has earned three Unit Citations from the Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service as well as a Bronze Medal for Valor. In addition, he has frequently been recognized as the BVFD’s top responder. To date, Chief Ryman has responded to over 7,690 emergency incidents. On April 24, 2017, he achieved Certified Chief Officer status after completing the rigors of County training and testing.

Chief Ryman works as a planner for the Emergency Response system of the Maryland National Capital Region, planning for the development of critical incident response capabilities. He has extensive expertise in the field of Emergency Management and specifically Emergency Response. Chief Ryman holds a Master’s Degree in Emergency Management as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College. Chief Ryman also has a Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management with a minor in Fire Service Administration from UMUC. Chief Ryman is a former employee of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and former shift supervisor in the Maryland Joint Operations Center.

Chief Ryman has extensive experience providing Situational Awareness, Incident Management, Policy Development, as well as over 12 years of Fire Service experience with substantial training in Technical Rescue and Hazardous Materials response. Chief Ryman is also a member of the National Capital Region Communications Interoperability Group (NCR CIG) as well as being a candidate in the Executive Fire Officer program at the National Fire Academy.