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

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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]

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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

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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]

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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 his final assignment as the C shift scheduler.

Darren then breaks down his life after he stepped away, his perspective on the job now that he's retired, and the things that bring him the most joy in life.

Darren can be reached at [email protected]

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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 to his final rank of battalion chief, and how he approaches life on the retired side of the fire service.

Tony shares some great information about things he learned as the chief in charge of FROMS (Fire Rescue Occupational Medical Section) and how those lessons continue to serve him well in retirement.

Chief Coleman can be reached at [email protected]

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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 Rescue Service, ultimately retiring as a battalion chief.  However, his career did not stop there.  After retiring from MCFRS, he was hired by the Charleston Fire Department as a deputy chief.  This was not long after the tragic Sopa Super Store fire that resulted in the line of duty deaths of nine of Charleston's bravest.

Hear how Chief Tippett helped the Charleston FD rebuild after such a terrible tragedy, and what he started doing after retiring from Charleston.

Chief Tippett can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]

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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 took to eventually lead him to the career that he fell in love with.

Pedro also shares about his leaving the fire department sooner than he thought he would, and the struggles that came along with that.  Now "fully involved" in a successful real estate career, Pedro shares how he's trying to reconnect with the fire department in his own way and fully enjoy the next chapters of his life.

Captain Menesses can be reached on Instagram and Facebook @pedromenesesjr

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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 how transitioning to the retired life has had an impact on him.

Chief Thomas can be reached at [email protected]

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Welcome to When The Smoke Clears!  In this introductory episode, Tony and Russ introduce themselves and explain what this podcast is all about.

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