ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County is Maryland's most populous county, with over 1.1 million residents and it has been without a permanent fire chief for almost a year, since Chief Scott Goldstein retired June 30, 2023.
Country Executive Marc Elrich announced Wednesday the nomination of Corey Smedley to the post.
Smedley is a 33-year fire service veteran new to Montgomery County but not the D.C. metropolitan area. Smedley was a deputy chief in Prince George's County and also rose through the ranks to ultimately become fire and EMS chief in Alexandria, Virginia in 2019.
Smedley was Alexandria's first black fire chief and he'd be the first in Montgomery County as well.
He'll be formally introduced during an event scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Fire Station 32 in Rockville on Thursday.
Smedley was not the County Executive's first pick for Fire Chief. MoCo Fire Division Chief Charles Bailey was nominated in November last year, but his selection fizzled after it didn't appear Bailey would have the backing of the County Council.
Rockville's Volunteer Fire Station President Eric Bernard had the chance to meet with Smedley during the interview process.
"[I] spent several hours with him. So we're encouraged. He comes from a system similar to ours where they have career and volunteer professionals working side by side," said Bernard. "We are excited he has the background, the experience and the knowledge."
The process to replace the fire chief comes as Montgomery County is working to replace its police chief at the same time. MCPD Chief Marcus Jones announced his retirement in January. He'll step aside in July.
Exactly a week ago, County Executive Elrich announced plans to nominate Montgomery County Assistant Police Chief Marc Yamada for the job. Yamada has worked for MCPD for the past thirty-five years.
The goal for the County Council is to do its due diligence but also make relatively quick work through the nomination process for the two chief designates. Barring any hiccups in the process, the two men could be confirmed a week apart and begin their new jobs before the end of July.
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