As volunteers, our mission is to support and work jointly with career Firefighters and Paramedics to:

• Prevent fires and medical emergencies from occurring through safety education;

• Control fire, medical, and other emergencies should prevention fail; and

• Enhance the level of emergency services provided to the citizens by the County of Fairfax.

The Meaning of The Maltese Cross

When a courageous band of crusaders known as the Knights of St. John, fought the Saracens for possession of the holy land, they encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a simple, but a horrible device of war, it wrought excruciating pain and agonizing death upon the brave fighters for the cross. The Saracen's weapon was, fire.

As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, they were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha. When they became saturated with the highly flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch into their midst. Hundreds of the knights were burned alive; others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths.

Thus, these men became our first firefighter and the first of a long list of courageous firefighters. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each here a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firefighter's wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross.

The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that the firefighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so many years ago. The Maltese Cross is a firefighter's badge of honor, signifying that he works in courage - a ladder rung away from death.

The eight points of the cross represent the eight vows the knights promised to observe.  

The Star of Life is the symbol representing Emergency Medical Technicians.   Both the American Medical Association and the Advisory Council within the Department of Health and Human Services encourage this symbols use.  

The symbol's six-barred cross represents the six-system function of the EMS:

• Detection
• Response
• Reporting
• On Scene Care
• Care in Transit
• Transfer to Definitive Care

The staff in the center of the symbol represents medicine and healing.  

According to Greek mythology, the staff belonged to Asclepius, the son of Apollo (god of light, truth, and prophecy). Asclepius supposedly learned the art of healing from the Centaur Cheiron. But he elicited the wrath of the god Zeus when he started resurrecting people from the dead. Fearful that Asclepius' knowledge might render mankind immortal; Zeus slew Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Eventually Zeus restored Asclepius to life, making him a god. Asclepius is usually shown in a standing position, dressed in a long cloak and holding a staff with a curative serpent coiled around it, an image that Zeus later set among the stars. Worshippers used to sleep in Asclepius' temples in the belief that Asclepius cured the sick during their dreams.