TOWSON, MD – Joanne R. Rund will be sworn in on Monday, July 1 as Baltimore County Fire Chief.

She becomes the first woman chief since the department’s founding in the late 1880s.

A formal appointment ceremony be held at 1 p.m. in Patriot Plaza in Towson. Patriot Plaza is located between Bosley and Washington avenues and occupies the space between the Circuit Courthouse and the Historic Courthouse.

Rund was a member of the Howard County Department of Fire & Rescue Services from 1987 until her appointment by Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. as Fire Chief.

In Howard County, Rund held leadership positions in Operations, Administrative Service, Education and Training. Prior to joining HCDFRS, she served as a volunteer EMS provider in Carroll County.

Rund holds numerous certifications in the field of Health and Safety. She serves as Associate Faculty at the University of Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute and has served as Committee Chair for the Maryland Metro Chiefs Life Safety Committee. Rund also is active with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.