Assistant Chief Monty Fitch (The original...not to be confused with his son) grew up on the west coast, living in national parks and seeing his father fight the occasional wild fire as part of the National Park Service. Growing up, he became a wild land firefighter for a few years until moving east and eventually joining the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department. From there, he got hired by the Hillandale Volunteer Fire Department (back when the corporations hired their own full-time firefighters). He eventually worked his way up to assistant chief and enjoyed a full career of about 35 years. After he retired, he was asked to travel to Iraq to help the country build up their fire department towards the end of Saddam Husein's rule. After returning home, Monte got a job doing background investigations for MCFRS, helping people get into the job he spent so many years giving his life to.

Monty can be reached at 301-767-5835

Support the podcast here:
buymeacoffee.com/whenthesmokeclears

Buy When The Smoke Clears Merch here:
https://form.jotform.com/241787498388177

Battalion Chief Jim Resnick is our guest on the podcast as we return from a prolonged break.

Jim grew up in Bethesda and, like many of our guests, got exposed to the fire department at an early age. After seeing many severe car accidents near the intersection by his house as a child, he vowed to be able to do more to help once he got older. As a teenager, he joined the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad where he volunteered for many years until he was hired by the Cabin John Fire Department as a full-time firefighter. From there, he rose through the ranks, making it all the way up to battalion chief until his retirement 28 years later.

Jim still serves with the MCFRS as a civilian contractor, doing fire safety initiatives for the elderly.

Jim can be reached at jimresnick@hotmail.com

Support the podcast here:
buymeacoffee.com/whenthesmokeclears

Buy When The Smoke Clears Merch here:
https://form.jotform.com/241787498388177

Corey Smedley was first introduced to the fire service by his sister. She was hired as a career firefighter in Prince Georges County and Corey decided to follow in her footsteps. Corey was eventually hired in PG County as well, and he enjoyed a full career there, rising through the ranks and eventually landing at the chief level.

From there, various opportunities came Corey's way, including an opportunity to work in the Alexandria Fire Department, where he eventually became their Fire Chief. After returning to PG to take an Assistant Chief spot, he thought that's where his career would end. But then Montgomery County Fire and Rescue reached out to him, saying that they were looking for a Fire Chief. The rest, as they say, is history.

Chief Smedley shares about his life growing up in Washington DC, his careers in PG and Alexandria, and what the process looked like when he was being courted by Montgomery County. We in MCFRS saw what the process was like from the outside...now hear the full story of how the process unfolded from the Chief's perspective.

Support the podcast here:
buymeacoffee.com/whenthesmokeclears

Buy When The Smoke Clears Merch here:
https://form.jotform.com/241787498388177