Everyday Heroes 2022

Perry Fire Department
Drew Rowell
By: WILL OLIVER
HHJ Managing Editor
For Perry Fire Sergeant Drew Rowell, every aspect of
completing the job and taking care of Perry residents are his
favorite parts of his position at the fire department. Bringing
his comrades home safe after every call is one of his goals.
“[My favorite part is] doing our duty — I guess you could
say — doing the profession; I like doing that,” Rowell said. “[I
like] taking care of the little things that are here because we’re
not always running calls, but we have an apparatus to maintain
and a station to upkeep. We’ve got the citizens to care for.”
He said that it is an honor to serve his country at the city,
state and national level.
“I feel like I was called to serve,” he added. “Not only do I
do this, but I’m in the Georgia Air National Guard through the
Air Force. [I want to] put others first before I put myself first.”
For Rowell, the greatest achievements he has attained in
his work with the department do not necessarily involve the
titles that come along with them.
“I guess my greatest achievement would be this past
month, getting the promotion to sergeant and being voted
on by my peers as Firefighter of the Year,” he said. “Also, in
2016, I was voted Rookie of the Year, which is pretty neat, too.
Those accolades, they mean a lot, but hanging out here with
the guys and having that camaraderie, the brotherhood and
everything like that — it’s rewarding in itself.
“When we go on a structure fire, or we go on an extrication
or we go on those bad calls as one group and all of us work as one
cohesive unit and get the job done, we’re all able to come back to
the station, talk about it and debrief. The fact that we can all do
that, and everything goes smoothly and we do it in a professional
manner — that right there is the most gratifying it can get, for sure.”
Rowell then spoke on some of the daily duties involved
with his position.
“As a sergeant, you drive and maintain the apparatus that
you were assigned to for the day,” he said. “You’re the driver
and the operator, so you’ll operate the pump as needed for
fires — so you’re in charge of the apparatus and the people
that are behind you.”
No matter your role or rank within the department,
everyone must continue to learn new skills to help the
department excel as a unit, he explained.
“If you don’t learn something new every shift, you’re
doing something wrong,” Rowell said. “I take it day by day.
Going through the ranks is a goal, of course. Taking classes
[and] furthering my knowledge on the job and other things
about the department and city itself — it’s enjoyable.”
Rowell is a native of Perry, attending and graduating
from Perry High School. He finished his associate’s degree
at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and obtained his
bachelor’s degree in business from Columbia Southern
University.
He also holds an advanced EMT license and has served
in the Georgia Air National Guard for over 3 years as a
communication and navigation avionics specialist.
Rowell and his wife, Kelsey, have a daughter named
Blakelyn that was recently born on March 19.
20 Everyday Heroes Houston County, 2022