Gentry, his wife Carmen, and their son Houston Drew.
Fire safety in a sawmill requires a lot of special equipment, from intricate systems of pipes and hoses to high-tech sensors. But even more important are the dedicated employees such as Gentry Hassell who keep it all in working order.
“I’ve dreamed of fighting fires since I was a little kid,” says Gentry, a journey-level mechanic at our Greenville lumber mill in Grifton, North Carolina. “My grandfather was a volunteer firefighter, and I always knew I would follow in his footsteps.”
So, when he’s not working on Greenville’s fire system, he’s often waiting for a call at his local fire station.
“I love that I get to be a volunteer firefighter in my spare time and also have a job that focuses on fire safety,” he says.
Gentry, Carmen and Houston Drew.
MEET GENTRY
Your title is journey-level mechanic. Tell us what you do.
I’m the fire system owner. I’m ultimately responsible for every piece of equipment that can help prevent or suppress fires at the mill. I started at Weyerhaeuser about 10 years ago in the maintenance department, and I was quickly drawn to this role because of the safety and firefighting aspects.
What led you to choose this job?
It makes me feel good to protect people and their belongings. Between my job and volunteer firefighting, I feel like I’m able to make a real difference at the mill and in my community.
Tell us what your average day is like.
I inspect the fire systems and look for potential problems. I test the water pumps and trip test the whole suppression system. If there’s an issue, I troubleshoot it until I find a solution. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen very often, because we’re really on top of it.
Is there anything about this job that would surprise people?
People who aren’t familiar with sawmills have no idea how much suppression equipment we have — there are fire systems on forklifts, thousands of sprinkler heads in our buildings, fire hose stations and extinguishers, dry system valves everywhere and hydrants in the yard. So, people don’t always realize how important this is, or how much there is to maintain.
You must have some challenges. What are they?
There are a lot of things to keep track of, and you really have to get to know the equipment and all its parts.
What advice would you give people who want a job like yours?
Two key things will help you get far: a willingness to work hard and showing that you care about other people.
What are your career aspirations?
I’d love to expand my role a bit. I’ve done some work at other mills, helping out with fire audits, and it would be great to interact with other fire safety folks at other locations more often. One of my biggest inspirations is Joel Gaither, the company’s Fire Protection manager. Not only is he super smart, but he’s also a huge help to many people throughout the company.
Tell us about your other interests. What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for 12 years. It has its ups and downs. I’ve seen some things I’ll never forget, but I’ve also felt so proud to help prevent disasters.
I live on a farm, and I love to hunt deer on my property. I also do a lot of fishing. Lately, I’ve been spending more time at home because my wife Carmen just had our first baby, a son named Houston Drew.
