New Baltimore Co. fire chief takes oath
Joanne Rund rose through the ranks of the Howard County Fire Department in emergency medical services and firefighting. She said fighting fires was her favorite part of the job — though it wasn’t the action that drew her.
“I like to connect with the family,” Rund said. “And I like to ask them, ‘Is there anything in there that you would like me to look for?’” She said she has gone into burned buildings and brought out a little girl’s doll, a jewelry box, a photo album.
“It’s all about knowing that in the worst day of their life, you did something small and wonderful for them,” Rund said.
Rund took the oath of office Monday afternoon to become the first woman to permanently lead the Baltimore County Fire Department.
The self-described “people person” said she will lead by connecting with people in the department.
“I really truly want to understand the culture here, the family here,” Rund said. “I want to become part of that family.”
In a ceremony at Patriot Plaza in Towson, in front of a memorial to fallen Baltimore County firefighters, Rund said she was “humbled and honored” to be appointed chief.
“To be chosen as a member of this team is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Rund said.
The incoming fire chief spent more than 30 years rising through the Howard County department.
“In Joanne Rund, we have found the right chief to lead the Baltimore County Fire Department into the future,” County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said during the ceremony. Olszewski nominated Rund to the position in May.
Rund replaces Acting Chief Jennifer Aubert-Utz, who took over after Chief Kyrle Preis retired.
With Rund officially taking office, all four of Baltimore County’s public safety agencies have a woman at the helm. Police Chief Melissa Hyatt was sworn in last month, and the Department of Corrections and 911 Communications Center are also led by women.
Rund, a nearly lifelong Carroll County resident who lives in Westminster, said she took an interest in becoming a first responder when her cousin, a volunteer firefighter in Sykesville, came to live with her family. Hanging around the fire station, listening to volunteers talk about their work, made her want to be a part of it. Rund was a volunteer EMS provider in Carroll County until she joined the Howard department in 1987.
Her husband, Michael Rund, a lieutenant in the Howard department, participated in the ceremony at her request, presenting her with her badge.
After the ceremony, Rund said she had always hoped to rise through the ranks, but never expected to be the first woman to lead a department.
“I thought we would have done that before,” Rund said.
Two other women also rose to lead area fire departments in Maryland in the last year — Chief Christine Uhlhorn in Howard County and Chief Trisha Wolford in Anne Arundel County.
Rund said her priority in office will be to enhance safety protections for first responders.
In emergencies, responders are at risk because they get “tunnel vision,” focusing on the safety of others while neglecting their own, Rund said.
Rund said she is sad to leave Howard County, where she “grew up” in the department.
“God has another mission for me, and it’s to help Baltimore County, to move Baltimore County to the next level,” Rund said. “They’re already a great department, but I’m supposed to be here to work with them for a reason.”