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.

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Vanessa DeVries first expressed interest in the fire department at four years old. Yes, many kids go through their "I want to be a firefighter" phase, but Vanessa never grew out of hers. She joined a volunteer fire department in Prince Georges County as a teenager, was later hired by the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, and never looked back.

As a female in the fire service at a time when there were even fewer women than there are now, Vanessa had to deal with some very challenging situations. However, she was also surrounded by plenty of people who supported her and wanted nothing but to see her succeed. She rose through the ranks and eventually became the youngest person at the time, male or female, to become a battalion chief.

Vanessa would eventually retire as an Assistant Chief. As she was in her final years, she became pregnant with her first daughter. So a lot of her post-retirement life has been spent raising her daughters with her husband Kevin, a retired firefighter whom we also recently interviewed.

Chief DeVries can be found on Facebook, her email is ness6787@yahoo.com, and her phone number is 301-452-3778. She also wants to let any female firefighters know that if they ever need someone to talk to for support or anything else, they can always reach out to her.

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Kevin DeVries is a second generation firefighter who was influenced early on by his father and uncle, who were both career firefighters for a time. Kevin was another one who was hired during the corporation days and saw the department evolve into being run by the county. Along the way, he worked in Bethesda, Takoma Park and Silver Spring, running "a couple fires along the way," as he put it.

Kevin never hesitated to tell you exactly what was on his mind, and that could either motivate you or piss you off. By and large that worked to his advantage, and he influenced a lot of people along the way, ultimately retiring as a Captain from station 16. Two of his sons followed in his footsteps, and they are both still on the job to this day.

Kevin doesn't do social media, but he can be reached at 301-325-9649.

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Battalion Chief Mike Hamilton holds the record of having served the longest in the fire service out of all of the people we have interviewed so far...45 years! During that time, Mike did A LOT. From working at the 911 call center, being on the apparatus committee, working in code enforcement, and working in virtually every battalion in one position or another, Mike Hamilton had a very full career. He was on the scene of several fires that easily could have resulted in line of duty deaths, and they had a profound effect on him.

His career came to an abrupt end, but that has not stopped him from living his life on the other side of the fire service.

He can be reached at 301-520-7177.

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Derrick Anthony joins us to discuss his 30+ year fire service career. Throughout his time in MCFRS, Derrick was involved in many things, including teaching at the training academy, helping with the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, being the In-Service Training Coordinator at the training academy, helping the department acquire accreditation, and more.

Once he retired, he continued working in a variety of jobs, being very thankful for the skills he acquired working for the fire department, and savoring the memories he had riding the fire trucks and serving the citizens of Montgomery County.

Derrick can be reached at derrick.anthony1@verizon.net

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Rico Shepherd never grew up with any aspirations to join the fire department. However, when he saw an advertisement in the newspaper about MCFRS hiring, he applied, got hired, and the rest was history.

Rico spent a good part of his career in Cabin John on the swift water rescue team, and another large chunk of it in the fire code enforcement section where he eventually retired as a Master Firefighter. After retirement, his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he started a bulk trash collecting business.

Rico can be reached at rescuebulktrash@gmail.com or at 240-429-0968

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When Walter Balma had his first encounter with the fire department, he knew immediately that he wanted to be a firefighter. Growing up in Prince George's County, MD, he wanted to be a PG firefighter, so he became a PG volunteer. However, when applying for full-time fire department jobs, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue hired him first. Walter enjoyed a 20+ year career in Montgomery County before eventually retiring and joining the Prince George's County Fire Department.

Walter shares about his time in both departments, as well as his time working in the fire code enforcement offices of Rockville City and Prince George's County.

Walter can be reached at Walter.Balma@gmail.com

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Stacey Jones never had any ambition to join the fire service when he was young, but through various twists and turns of life, he found himself joining the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service as a member of Recruit Class 6. Along the way, Stacey never had any formal mentors to teach him about the fire service, and at times he struggled. But he ultimately forged his own path and ended up retiring as a Captain and as an EMS duty officer.

Stacey shares with us the importance of mentorship in the fire service and how it is desperately needed for anyone who seeks to have a full and fulfilling career.

Captain Jones can be reached at staj55@gmail.com or 240-351-3976.

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