Continuing our celebration of Black History Month showcasing African-American contributions to the Fire/EMS services, Ridge VFD would like to spotlight the many accomplishments of one of our members… Firefighter/Paramedic Darius Hawkins.

For more than 20 years, Darius has dedicated his time/life to the Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Southern Maryland, and beyond. He started his journey as a volunteer Firefighter with the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department in January 2000. During his time with RVFD, Darius has served as Firefighter/EMT/Paramedic, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Engineer, and Deputy Fire Chief. He was first African-American to hold many of these positions in our Department, most notably, the position of Deputy Fire Chief. Darius is still a loyal member of RVFD.

In 2005, Darius began training to become a Nationally Registered and Maryland Licensed Paramedic. In addition to his service at Ridge VFD, he began volunteering with the St. Mary's County Advanced Life Support Unit (SMALS). In 2013, Darius earned his NREMT-P and Maryland licensure, becoming the first African-American Paramedic in St. Mary’s County, MD. Darius volunteered with SMALS until September 2021.

In July 2009, Darius began his professional career with the Naval District of Washington Fire Department (NDWFD) as a Firefighter/EMT. NDWFD is the Department of Defense (DoD) fire department system that supports Navy operations by providing fire protection and EMS services to a number of Naval facilities in the Washington D.C. area. Darius started at Engine Company 2 Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, MD. In December 2020, Darius was selected as NDWFD’s newly formed Central Battalion Fire Chief of EMS, making him not only the first person to hold this position, but also the first African-American in this position. As Battalion Chief EMS, Darius is responsible for the planning, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of all phases of NDWFD’s comprehensive EMS program, with additional responsibilities of serving as relief Battalion Chief and/or Incident Commander on emergencies.

Other notable Fire/EMS positions/duties:

MedStar SiTEL – Paramedic (paid) / Instructor
December 2015 – Present
Instructor of American Heart Association (AHA) programs and resuscitation events including: Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) courses.

Department of Emergency Services with St. Mary’s County Government – Paramedic (paid)
October 2021 – Present
Licensed Maryland Paramedic providing basic and advanced life support medical care on medical emergency or other traumatic events.

In his “spare time,” Darius also owns/operates his own small business, Mobile Mechanics. He’s an ASE-Certified automotive technician.

We here at Ridge VFD are honored to have such a dedicated Fire/EMS practitioner in our membership. We are extremely proud of Darius' service to us, St. Mary’s County, and the Department of Defense.