When The Smoke Clears

Captain Justin Meyer joins us to talk about his 30-year career with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.  Justin started out as a volunteer firefighter at Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department, Company 15.  From there, he was hired in Montgomery County and never looked back.  Justin did his rookie time at Glenmont Company 18 and finished his career there as a captain, with plenty of adventures in between, including several years on the FEMA USAR team as a K9 handler.  Justin worked with, or for, many of our past guests, and several of them served as his mentors.

After an unreal final shift, Justin attacked retirement with the same passion he brought to the job.  After "going hard" for a few months, he made some adjustments and started to really take his health seriously.  He's now on a much better path and enjoying plenty of hobbies.

Justin can be found on Facebook.

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Before Chief Tom Carr became Montgomery County's very first fire chief, the department was run by a fire administrator.  "What the heck is a fire administrator?" you ask?  Great question!  We were fortunate to sit down with Gordon Aoyagi, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue's first, and only, fire administrator.  Mr. Aoyagi shares about the nine years he served as the county fire administrator and what exactly that entailed.  Given all that Gordon did, along with the career and volunteer chiefs working alongside him, it's safe to say that they laid the groundwork for a lot of what MCFRS is today and where we are heading.  For that, we are eternally grateful.

Gordon can be reached at [email protected]

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Rick Triplett was born and raised in Montgomery County, specifically the Rockville/Twinbrook area.  So when he finally made his way into the fire service and started working in Rockville, his knowledge of the area served him very well.  He got the opportunity to drive a lot of different types of apparatus, so he became extremely operator for the engine, truck, and rescue squad.  As he rose through the ranks, he joined the USAR team and got to deploy to several high profile national tragedies, including the Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Katrina, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  He was able to spend his final years as a captain back in Rockville, being station commander at Twinbrook Station 23.

While the first few years of retirement were very difficult for Rick, his life is definitely on the upswing and he is enjoying the retired life in Delaware.

Rick can be reached at 240-285-0153 and at [email protected]

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Troy Lipp grew up in the fire service.  His father was a volunteer firefighter and so Troy spent his childhood hanging around the firehouse and even occasionally riding with his father on calls.  After reaching adulthood, he attended college and had plans to be an engineer, but eventually decided the fire service was a much better fit.  Throughout his career, Troy did a bit of everything, but he spent a lot of his time doing technical rescue and being part of FEMA's MD Task Force One.  That gave him a front row seat to the Oklahoma City federal building bombing and the Pentagon on 9/11.  Now that he's retired, Troy is enjoying a much more slower pace of life.

Troy can be found on Facebook.

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Greg Edwards grew up with his dad being a firefighter in the Washington DC Fire Department and a cousin being a volunteer firefighter, so Greg grew up with the fire service all around him.  After graduating college, the fire service finally won him over and he was hired with Montgomery County.  He spent some time assigned to Bethesda fire houses and Rockville station 3 until he transferred down to Takoma Park, where he fell in love with the fast pace of the first battalion.  After promoting to Master Firefighter, Greg eventually settled at Silver Spring station 1, where he worked for many years.  Greg retired a couple years after the COVID 19 pandemic, and he is currently enjoying the retired life.

He can be found on Facebook, or at [email protected]

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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 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.

Monte can be reached at 301-767-5835

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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 [email protected]

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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 [email protected], 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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