The Club is open to Firefighters and their Families

A motorcycle club for firefighters
and their families who enjoy riding.

On behalf of the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club, I would like to thank you for your interest in becoming a new member, starting a new chapter in your area, or joining as a Member At Large. The members of the International Board are available and ready to assist you in achieving this goal.

The Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club is an organization of firefighters who ride motorcycles. We promote motorcycle safety, project a positive image of motorcycle enthusiasts, enjoy the Fraternity of Firefighters, and contribute to several charities.

Our membership comprises career, part-time, volunteer, disabled, industrial, and retired firefighters. Our members ride all makes of motorcycles from full dressers to sport bikes. We have an RKMC Help-A-Knight program, which gives you a list of Red Knights members in other states/provinces that you may visit in your travels. We offer social memberships for family members and Associate memberships for non-firefighting personnel (10% of the chapter’s active membership).  The club originates from Boylston, Massachusetts.

During the summer of 1982, several firefighters were visiting “Randy’s Cycle Shop” in Boylston, Massachusetts and the subject of motorcycle clubs came up. Soon they were all grousing about the fact that law enforcement people had a motorcycle club known as the Blue Knights but there was no club for firefighters. After this tire-kicking session, owner Randy Wilson suggested to Ed Wright, a firefighter from Northboro, MA, that he stop talking about the lack of a club and form one instead.

Recognizing a good idea when he heard one, Ed Wright went home that afternoon and made some hand-printed posters inviting firefighters from the area to meet and determine if there was enough interest to form a motorcycle club. On August 17th, 1982, Fire Chief Jack Pierce allowed a small group of motorcycle enthusiasts to meet in Northboro Fire Headquarters to lay the groundwork for the formation of a motorcycle club.

On October 19th, 1982, firefighters Colin Mackey, Bob Bourassa, Ed Wright, Roger Wentzell, Dave Hamilton, Bob Goulet, David Hunt, Jon Tripp, Don Parker, Norm Beausoleil, and Chief Pierce met again. There was interest in promoting the positive image of motorcycling while enjoying the camaraderie of other firefighters. It was decided then that this group would be known as the Red Knights Motorcycle Club.

News of this new club spread like a grass fire. In July of 1983, a chapter was formed in Connecticut. In October of that year, a second Massachusetts chapter was formed. Soon applications came in from such distant places as Nevada and Louisiana. In August of 1983, the founding members realized the organization was rapidly growing beyond its original expectations. To properly handle this growth they elected a committee to serve as a National Board of Directors. With applications from Ontario and Saskatchewan, Canada, the club became the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club.

As a result of the seed that was planted at Randy’s in 1982, there are now more than 300 Red Knights chapters and 9,000 members throughout the world, Check out our chapter locations page for the various chapter locations. 

In 1984 the club’s first convention was held in Boylston, MA since then conventions have been held annually in various locations and have been organized for all Red Knights to attend.  All Red Knight members are encouraged to attend.

Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club Map

Red Knights chapters span across the globe, reflecting the strength and reach of our brotherhood and sisterhood. The interactive map linked below provides a visual overview of our organization, showing:

• Chapters marked by large red icons

• Chapter members marked by small red icons

• Members at Large (MALs) marked by small green icons

To view chapter locations, simply zoom in until the chapter icons appear.  Red Knight Map

If you notice any additions or corrections that need to be made to the map, please contact treasurer@redknightsmc.com and/or your chapter executive.

We encourage you to explore the map and see where your fellow Red Knights are located around the world. A special thank you goes out to everyone who contributed to making this interactive map a reality—it is an informative and valuable tool for our membership. Enjoy exploring, and click the link below to access the map.

Special thanks to our International Treasurer, Scott Ryan, for creating and maintaining this interactive map.

Chapters by Country

You can also view our Chapters Listed by Country, where you can select your country to identify the Regional Director serving your area. This section provides detailed information on active chapters, including:

• Chapter patch

• Registered town

• Chapter email address

By contacting individual chapters directly, you can connect with the chapter president or other executive board members for specific details regarding meetings, locations, and upcoming events. If you prefer a complete listing of all chapters in one document, it is available through the provided link.

Important Communication Notes

Please note that chapter email addresses are monitored by individual chapter presidents, who are solely responsible for responding to inquiries. If you do not receive a response, please do not contact the International, as they do not manage or control communications for individual chapters. The International is also not provided with specific meeting times or locations for each chapter.

When a Red Knights chapter is chartered, the International supplies the chapter with an @RedKnightsMC.com email address for official communications. It is the responsibility of the chapter president to monitor this email and stay current with information distributed by the International.

General Inquiries

For general questions regarding the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club, please contact the International Secretary at secretary@redknightsmc.com

How To Become A Member-
To become an active member of the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club, you must fulfill three obligations.

(1)  You must be a current or past firefighter. Call, volunteer, full-time, Military, Industrial, Wildland, makes no difference, or an EMT or Medic if you are under the control of an established fire department.
(2)  You must have a current, legal motorcycle license endorsement
(3)  You must own or have access to a motorcycle.

If you meet those requirements, go to the ABOVE menu and then go to CHAPTER LOCATIONS AND MAP. That page has a listing of every Red Knight chapter in the world and their email address.  Find the chapter closest to you and email them your desire to become a member.

If you do not live within a reasonable distance of an already established chapter,  you may apply for Member-At-Large Membership (M.A.L).

If that is the case, go to the MEMBERS-AT-LARGE tab. Everything you need to know is on that page.

There are 9 Membership Classifications:
Active
Charter
Associate
Social
Honorary
Member-At-Large
Life
Junior
Special Compassionate Honorary Member

Active-
Active membership shall be available to Past or Present Firefighting personnel of an established Fire Department, which is under the command of a Fire Chief or Public Service Director, whether they are Career, Industrial, Military, On Call, Part Paid, Volunteer, or Wildland, and who presently own or have access to a Motorcycle and have a current legal Motorcycle endorsement. An Active member who can no longer ride a motorcycle may retain their active status. Emergency Medical Technicians and Medics are eligible to join as members if they are employed by an established Fire Department and may retain their Active status after they are no longer employed as such.

Chapter-
Charter membership shall be restricted to Active Members who are on the original roster, when the Chapter was accepted by the International Executive Board and to any member who joined the Chapter and meets Active status within one (1) year of the Chapter’s being accepted by the International Executive Board and accepted by the Chapter Executive Board.

Associate-
Associate membership shall be offered to a person who has been proposed, in writing, for such membership and accepted in good standing and, in the opinion of a majority of the Chapter’s Executive Board, has substantially contributed to the promotion of the Club for a minimum period of six (6) months. Final approval shall be by a majority vote of the Chapter members at a meeting held at the conclusion of the six-month (6) period. Associate membership shall not be offered if it results in the number of Associate Members exceeding ten percent (10%) of the Chapters Active Members. At the discretion of the International Executive Board, the 10% rule may be waived if the number of Active Members in a chapter lowers after an Associate has already been accepted. Once a member has been accepted as an Associate member and for various reasons no longer is able to ride a motorcycle they may, at the pleasure of the chapter majority retain his/her membership as an Associate member. Associate membership may also be available to any person who is an employee of a Fire department and not qualified for Active membership, they may retain their FD Associate status after they are no longer an employee of a Fire Department. This type of associate membership shall not be included in the 10% restriction as stated above and will be recorded as a FD Associate in the chapter and rosters of the Organization.

Social-
Social members shall be a Spouse, Partner, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Son, Daughter, Grandchild, Brother or Sister, Father or Mother of an Active Member, Associate Member or a Member-at- Large, including of deceased members. The list of relations includes adopted, half, and step. The minimum age for a Social member shall be 16 (sixteen) years of age before joining. Chapter Social members require a majority vote of eligible members present at a duly called meeting.

Honorary-
Each Chartered Chapter may grant Honorary Membership status to a member of a recognized religion for the position of Chapter Chaplain and/or to a civic or business leader who does volunteer work for the Chapter. An Honorary Member shall not hold a Chapter Office or vote in Chapter affairs. The International dues for this membership classification are to be paid by the Chapter.

Membership-At-Large-
Persons who qualify for membership in the Active membership category (Section 2:01) may be granted Member-at-Large (M.A.L.) status by the International Executive Board. Limitation of membership shall be at the discretion of the International Executive Board. M.A.L.’s are members who are not members of constituent Chapters. They shall be under the control of the International Executive Board and the designated officer appointed to communicate with them. M.A.L.s are entitled to run for an elected office and serve on Committees (Section 3:02 ). 1. Any Member-At-Large wishing to transfer membership to a designated chapter may do so upon the written request to the International Secretary from the Chapter President that the 5 M.A.L. is transferring to. There shall be no refund of M.A.L. dues, nor any International dues payable by the chapter he/she transfers to for the calendar year of the transfer. The M.A.L. shall notify his/her International Board representative of his/her transfer. 2. Any Chapter Member wishing to transfer their membership to Member-at-Large shall demonstrate a travel hardship to participate in Chapter activities or has the written approval of the Chapter President to transfer to M.A.L. Prior Chapter members requesting membership as an M.A.L. shall be subject to these requirements. 3. The Membership-at-Large shall be entitled to one vote on questions presented to the delegation at International meetings, to be cast by the Membership-at-Large representative elected by the Members-at-Large at a meeting to be held the evening before the Annual Business Meeting. 4. The Membership-at-Large shall be entitled to one vote for the election of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the International Board. The collective votes will be tallied by the third-party vendor administering the election, with a simple majority of the ballots cast for each being presented as the overall MAL vote.

Life Member-
INTERNATIONAL Life Membership may be granted by the International Executive Board to a member for outstanding service. The International Executive Board shall be responsible for international dues, and the 10-inch “INTERNATIONAL LIFE MEMBER” rocker will be authorized.

CHAPTER-
Life Membership may be granted by the Executive Board of a Chapter to a member in good standing who has been a dues paying member for 25 or more years. Life membership may also be granted to a member for outstanding service who may not have 25 (twenty-five) years of dues paying membership or to a member that, due to disability or declining health, no longer has the ability to ride a motorcycle. The Chapter proposing the member for Life Membership shall be responsible for international dues and the Chapter “LIFE MEMBER” rocker will be authorized.

Junior Membership-
To qualify for junior membership, children or Grandchildren of Active and Associate members must be under the age of sixteen (16) years. There shall be no dues collected for Junior Membership by the International and chapters shall be allowed to list such junior members on their rosters until age 16. At age 16, the junior member must switch membership and pay dues. A Junior Member shall not hold a Chapter Office or be permitted to vote.

Special Compassionate Honorary Member-
The Special Compassionate Honorary Member (SCHM) title may be given to an existing member who is the surviving spouse, partner, or Junior Member of any member of a Chapter 6 that was an Active Member or Associate Member. This membership would be in effect for a period of time as determined by the chapter. In the event of a SCHM chapter’s dissolution, the State/Provincial/Country representative (“Representative”) may assist the SCHM with maintaining their status in another chapter. There shall be no dues payable by this category of membership to the International Corporation.

Persons who qualify for membership in the Active membership category (Section 2:01) may be granted Member-at-Large (M.A.L.) status by the International Executive Board. Limitation of membership shall be at the discretion of the International Executive Board. M.A.L.’s are members who are not members of constituent Chapters. They shall be under the control of the International Executive Board and the designated officer appointed to communicate with them. M.A.L.s are entitled to run for an elected office and serve on Committees (Section 3:02 ). 1. Any Member-At-Large wishing to transfer membership to a designated chapter may do so upon the written request to the International Secretary from the Chapter President that the 5 M.A.L. is transferring to. There shall be no refund of M.A.L. dues, nor any International dues payable by the chapter he/she transfers to for the calendar year of the transfer. The M.A.L. shall notify his/her International Board representative of his/her transfer. 2. Any Chapter Member wishing to transfer their membership to Member-at-Large shall demonstrate a travel hardship to participate in Chapter activities or has the written approval of the Chapter President to transfer to M.A.L. Prior Chapter members requesting membership as an M.A.L. shall be subject to these requirements. 3. The Membership-at-Large shall be entitled to one vote on questions presented to the delegation at International meetings, to be cast by the Membership-at-Large representative elected by the Members-at-Large at a meeting to be held the evening before the Annual Business Meeting. 4. The Membership-at-Large shall be entitled to one vote for the election of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the International Board. The collective votes will be tallied by the third party vendor administering the election with a simple majority of the ballots cast for each being presented as the overall MAL vote.

Forming New Chapters

To start a new chapter a minimum of Seven (7) members is required.  Members must be in good standing in any fire department, paid, volunteer, military, or industrial firefighters, active, retired, resigned, or disabled. EMTs/Paramedics are also eligible if they are employed by an established fire department.
 
We have Social memberships for family members and Associate memberships for non-firefighting personnel (10% of the chapter’s Active membership).
 
All Active/Associate members must own or have access to a street-legal motorcycle and must be licensed to ride.
 
You must request an application from the International Secretary at secretary@redknightsmc.com.  An enrollment form will be provided to list the particulars of your new members. It may of course be copied if space is insufficient. The application is good for 4 months. After that time, you must reapply for a new application.