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The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department received two statewide honors for its role in the emergency response to the January 2025 Potomac River aircraft crash and its efforts to protect firefighters’ health.

FCFRD shared the 2025 Governor’s Fire Service Award for Career Outstanding Fire Department Response with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Arlington County Fire Department, City of Alexandria Fire Department, and Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department.

The award recognized the agencies’ response after a U.S. Army helicopter and PSA Airlines Flight 5342 crashed on Jan. 29, 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration tower alerted the airports authority, prompting an immediate search for wreckage and passengers.

Multiple agencies deployed boats, while more than 20 mutual-aid fire and emergency medical teams responded. Their training, coordination, and rapid decisions helped establish an organized multiagency operation.

Created in 2002, the Governor’s Fire Service Awards are presented annually by Virginia’s governor in partnership with the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and the Virginia Fire Services Board.

FCFRD also received the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association’s Best Practices in Fire Service Health and Safety Award. The honor recognized the department’s Fairfax County Public Safety Occupational Health Center and its proactive cancer-screening program.

The association created the award to highlight health and safety initiatives among Virginia fire and rescue departments.