KELSO III, Charles M.

On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Charles “Trey” Kelso, III was serving as the lead instructor of a Fire Officer I Class for the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, University of Maryland, at the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department Training Facility. The class started at approximately 19:00 hrs and wrapped up about an hour later. At approximately 22:00 hrs, a volunteer from the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department entered the training facility and found Instructor Kelso unresponsive on the floor. Help was summoned and emergency medical care was initiated. Instructor Kelso was transported by EMS to the Capital Region Medical Center where it was determined he had suffered a massive stroke. Sadly, on Saturday September 24, 2022, Instructor Kelso passed away. Trey Kelso was Deputy Fire Chief of Beltsville VFD & a past Chief of the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department. He had been a Fire Instructor at MFRI for nearly 10 years and a designated Chief Fire Officer (CFO) through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). In 2009, Trey started the Maryland chapter of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network(FCSN) and served as the organization’s Maryland State Director. He was elected to the FCSN Board of Directors in 2012 serving as CFO & Treasurer for the past 10 years. MFRI Instructor, Deputy Fire Chief, & EMT Charles M. “Trey” Kelso, III was 45 years old and had served for over 25 years.