When The Smoke Clears
What happens to a firefighter after they've spent decades running into burning buildings and rescuing people from sickness, injury and death? When they walk away from the job, how have they changed? What lessons have they learned? What type of person have they become?
Podcasting since 2024 • 32 episodes
When The Smoke Clears
Latest Episodes
32 - Assistant Chief Monte "Lenny" Fitch
Assistant Chief Monte 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 bec...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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1:41:46
31 - Battalion Chief Jim Resnick
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 acci...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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1:31:31
30 - Fire Chief Corey Smedley
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 ...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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1:47:31
29 - Assistant Chief Vanessa DeVries
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 Pri...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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1:41:36
28 - Captain Kevin DeVries
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 evo...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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1:29:35