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?
When The Smoke Clears
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 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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