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?
Episodes
19 episodes
19 - Captain Pete Corte
Captain Pete Corte is another individual who wanted to be a firefighter from the very beginning. He achieved his goal by becoming a volunteer firefighter at first, then getting hired by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Pete worked...
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1:27:45
18 - Firefighter Marshall Moneymaker
From the time he was first introduced to the fire service in high school, Marshall Moneymaker knew this was what he wanted to do with his life. However, the road to get there definitely was not easy.Eventually he did manage to get...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:28:27
17 - Lieutenant Alex Aquino
Alex Aquino has always had a heart yearning for adventure, and all of his immediate family members were the same. So it was no surprise (kind of) that he ended up in the fire department.After an almost 30-year career, all of his a...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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1:37:53
#16 - Division Chief Mike Love (Part 1)
Retired Division Chief Mike Love sits down with us for part 1 of a two-part interview. Chief Love is a treasure trove of valuable historic information on the early days of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. He talks abou...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:30:24
#15 - Captain Marc Worton
Retired Captain Marc Worton was destined to be in the fire service. Having two parents deeply involved in volunteer fire departments, he was practically born into it. Marc shares his story of becoming a volunteer firefighter as a te...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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1:39:19
#14 - Division Chief David Steckel
From the time he was a six-year-old boy hearing the fire house sirens sound near his home in Montgomery Village, MD, David Steckel knew he wanted to be a firefighter. When he was finally old enough to join the fire cadet program in high s...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:29:43
#13 - Division Chief Diane Zuspan
For our first female guest on the podcast, we have none other than retired Division Chief Diane Zuspan.Chief Zuspan originally had no desire to join the fire department. However, she entered the EMS world as a young adult and fell...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:27:06
#12 - Captain Tony Rankin
Captain Tony Rankin is another firefighter that both Russ and Tony have personal experience working with. When Tony Rankin was a captain in Hillandale, Tony Bencosme was his lieutenant and Russ was one of his firefighters.Tony sha...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:29:01
#11 - Firefighter Adrian Lacey
Adrian Lacey joins us to discuss his career with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. Adrian was a collegiate soccer player before discovering the fire service. The majority of his 20+ year career was spent primarily at a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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1:22:06
#10 - Master Firefighter Eric "Fez" Fessenden
From volunteering at the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department to getting hired by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, working his way up to be the primary driver of Truck 25, retiring because of various injuries, and having to deal with some m...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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1:29:34
#9 - Assistant Chief Michael Clemens
Assistant Chief Michael Clemens dedicated more than 40 years of service to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. Starting out as a teenage volunteer with the Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department, and eventually getting hired b...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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1:36:56
#8 - Assistant Chief Michael Prete
Assistant Chief Michael Prete joins us on the podcast today. Listen in as he talks about:- The very unusual way he got into the fire department- What it was like as a volunteer/casual labor employee before the county took ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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1:09:00
#7 - Battalion Chief Bill Kang
Retired Battalion Chief Bill Kang joins us on the pod today. He shares about his life growing up in a traditional Asian family, and his parent's reaction to him joining the fire service.Chief Kang's career took him all over Montgo...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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1:08:26
#6 - Master Firefighter Darren Carter
MFF Darren Carter sits down with us to talk about his career. He walks us through his early volunteer days at the Burntonsville Volunteer Fire Department, getting hired by the county, working at stations all over Montgomery County, and hi...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:01:32
#5 - Battalion Chief Tony Coleman
We speak with retired Battalion Chief Tony Coleman about his career with MCFRS. Tony shares with us about his upbringing as a native Montgomery County kid, what drew him into the fire service, his career spanning several decades leading t...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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1:01:52
#4 - Chief John Tippett
Retired Chief John Tippett joins us to talk about his career...how he started out as a volunteer firefighter and the became a career firefighter not too long after.Chief Tippett worked many years for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescu...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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1:18:33
#3 - Captain Pedro Meneses Jr.
In this episode we speak with retired Captain Pedro Meneses Jr.. From coming to the United States from his home country of Nicaragua, to his eventually joining the fire department, Pedro shares about all of the twists and turns his life t...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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1:10:01
#2 - Battalion Chief Kelvin Thomas
For our very first interview, we speak with retired Battalion Chief Kelvin Thomas. Kelvin walks us through his upbringing, what led him to pursue a career in the fire service, the assignments that made the most impact on his career, and h...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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1:14:31