About Local 2800
Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association is the union for firefighters in Arlington County, Virginia. We are Local 2800 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. We are also proudly affiliated with the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF), the Virginia AFL-CIO and the Northern Virginia Labor Federation.
We represent over 300 uniformed members of the Arlington County Fire Department, who provide fire suppression, EMS, fire prevention, technical rescue, hazardous materials, water rescue, and bomb squad services across 9 stations in Arlington County and the City of Falls Church.
Our members protect a dense urban community that includes:
A full-time population of over 237,000 (over 9,000 people per square mile)
A daytime population of over 301,000 (over 11,500 people per square mile)
The Pentagon
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Multiple other federal agencies
Virginia Hospital Center (a Level II Trauma Center)
11 Metro Stations
207,800 jobs
$85,975,000,000 in commercial and residential property including 121,200 housing units and 42 million square feet of private office space
(Source: Arlington County Profile 2023, Arlington County Budget FY24)
The Arlington County Fire Department hired the first female professional firefighter in the nation in 1974. Along with many other firsts, Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) partnered with the US Public Health Service to develop the nation’s first Metropolitan Medical Strike Team to respond to the consequences of a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack.
Read more about the history of the Arlington County Fire Department here.
Meet the Executive Board
-
Brian Lynch
PRESIDENT
-
Matthew Herrera
SECRETARY/TREASURER
-
Dustin Drumm
VICE PRESIDENT – LEGAL
-
Richard Slusher III
VICE PRESIDENT – HEALTH & SAFETY
-
Wandekha Kanthula
VICE PRESIDENT – POLITICAL