Captain Rochelle Rowell always knew she wanted to work in emergency services. As a child, she was fascinated by the police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and other frontline heroes, and had dreams of becoming one of them.
She came to America from New Zealand at 24 years old with two things: suitcases and an open mind. She had been a personal trainer back home and became one in Las Vegas but woke up in her new life wanting more.
Remembering her childhood inspiration, Rochelle got her EMT basic and Intermediate, and started working on the private ambulance. She would run calls with the fire department and soon realized she was working for the wrong organization. She wanted to do the exciting and cool things the fire department was doing!
Her dreams became a reality in 2007 when she was hired by the Clark County Fire Department, but Rochelle admits getting there wasn’t easy.
“The academy was undoubtedly one of the most difficult things I had ever done, but when you’re mentally tough and determined enough, you can achieve anything,” she says. “No one likes a quitter, and quitting was definitely not an option for me.”
Rochelle has spent most of her career on the east side of Las Vegas at station 27, with shorter stints at station 15 and 22. Once she got promoted to captain, she went to station 12 servicing the infamous Strip.
“I have been lucky in my career to have always been at large, busy stations, and to work with phenomenal people that I now consider family,” says Rochelle. “Later in my career, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing friends and mentors, in particular my old partner, CCFD Deputy Chief Jen Wyatt, and LVFR Deputy Chief Dina Dalessio, both intelligent, strong, and capable female leaders on the fire department.”
But just like the academy, becoming captain came with its own share of challenges, hardships, and even guilt. Rochelle had a nine-month-old and two-year-old, and a husband who is also a firefighter. The internal struggle was real. Hours of studying meant time away from her husband and two young daughters, so she faced a constant internal battle between her desire to be a good mom and wife, and her determination to learn, improve and reach her goals. Fortunately for us, her determination won out, thanks to a little help from her friends.
“I’m an extremely focused and driven person, so I just did everything I could to focus on the goal and achieve it,” says Rochelle. “I had help from some amazing people in my corner, who I could never repay for the time they committed to helping me achieve my goals.”
“None of it would have been possible without my amazing husband, Justin, who stepped up and took on all the household and parenting duties while I was away, studying,” Rochelle continues. “And I can’t forget my daily pep talks from my amazing friend – LVFR Engineer Rachel Pierce, who believed in me even on days that I didn’t believe in myself.”
Despite being in a male-dominated field, Rochelle admits that being female had nothing to do with her decision to become a frontline hero, or her belief in herself. She believes everyone enters the career with the intention and desire to help people in their greatest time of need, and that diversity within a crew makes for better teamwork.
“Every person has unique attributes to contribute to any situation, due to their own life experiences, knowledge, physical stature, or upbringing,” says Rochelle. “I wasn’t attracted nor deterred from the field because I’m a female. I just knew that I would need to work harder than everyone else because of my physical size compared to most other firefighters.”
But Rochelle does have some wise words of advice for other women looking to start a career with the fire service.
“Don’t expect to be treated differently, don’t expect people to change for you. Do your job, and work hard to be good at it, while still staying true to yourself,” she says. “You can be feminine and still be a good firefighter. Take the time to talk to people and learn their story; you will understand them better because of it. Be a sister to your crewmembers, get to know their wives and children, your crew will become like a family to you.”
If you’d like to help Nevada firefighters like Rochelle honor their fallen brothers and sisters, please consider a donation to our new memorial.
