When The Smoke Clears

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 about his upbringing in the 50s and 60s...how he first got involved with the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department as a young kid, spending lots of time at station 18, and how that led him to become a volunteer firefighter and eventually a career firefighter.  Chief Love then tells us about some significant fires that he got to run, all the way up to his eventual promotion to Sergeant in 1982.

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 teenager, eventually getting hired as a full-time career firefighter in Montgomery County, and having a robust career that took him from the fields of Sandy Spring to the high-rises of Bethesda.  He answered calls at the 911 center, joined the county's technical rescue team, and so much more.

In retirement, Marc helped to found the Montgomery County Career Firefighters Charitable Foundation, which serves to help firefighters when they have needs that are not immediately job-related.  He currently serves as president of the foundation.

Marc can be reached at 240-281-7241.  Call or text.

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 school, his love for the fire service was confirmed and there was no looking back.

After he was hired as a career firefighter in Montgomery County, Maryland, Dave quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the youngest officers the department had at the time.  After eventually promoting to Battalion Chief, he took an administrative position where he put his skills as a lawyer (!) to work.  He continued to rise through the ranks, serving the men and women working in the field from behind the scenes, doing a lot of important administrative and policy work.

Chief Steckel can be reached at [email protected]

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 in love with it.  Her journey as a paramedic took her from the west coast, to the middle of the country, and finally to the east coast, where she became a full time career firefighter and never looked back.

Diane shares about what it was like to be a woman in the fire service, and the ups and downs that came with that.  Fortunately, at every stage of her career, she was surrounded by good men who never made her gender an issue.  She was able to rise through the ranks of her department, eventually ending up at the division chief level...one step below chief of the department.

Post retirement, she and her husband (also a retired firefighter) have traveled the world and are fully enjoying living the retired life.

Chief Zuspan can be reached at [email protected]

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 shares with us about his upbringing growing up in Montgomery County, how a chance encounter with a former schoolmate-turned firefighter led him to become a volunteer firefighter and eventually a career firefighter, and how his desire to seek adventure led him to a very unusual hobby.

Tony also shares about a struggle he had once he stepped away from the fire service, and how he came to reinvent himself by parlaying a hobby into a whole new career.

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 single firehouse...Hillandale Station 12, and primarily on a single shift...A shift.

Adrian shares about his passion for soccer, how he spent many years as the primary tiller man on Truck 12, and the importance of taking care of your mental health if you are struggling with anything.

He can be reached at [email protected]

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 mental health struggles, retired Master Firefighter Eric Fessenden's story is incredibly powerful.  He holds nothing back as he shares about the dark place he found himself in after retiring, and he has since become a strong advocate for firefighter's seeking peer support if they are ever in need because of trauma incurred on the job or life difficulties faced off the job. 

Eric can be reached at [email protected] or 410-310-3085

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 by that corporation, Mike served the majority of his career in the Silver Spring area, before promoting to chief and eventually becoming the training chief at the Public Safety Training Academy.

Chief Clemens was in charge of designing and building Montgomery County's current training academy...and even though he has been retired now for several years, he still continues to fight to get more buildings added to the academy grounds.

Chief Clemens can be reached at [email protected]

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 over the fire department

- How he influenced the department bring in the 24/48 work schedule

- What he believes was his most influential rank

Mike Prete can be reached at [email protected] or 301-318-9755

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 Montgomery County...from the urban streets of Silver Spring to the rural landscapes of Damascus and (at the time) Germantown.  He finished his career as a chief officer, but even after he left the fire service behind, he still stayed in the emergency services world.

Chief Kang shares what he treasured most about his time in the fire department, and shares the wisdom he acquired from 21 years of service.

He can be reached at [email protected]