He never dreamed of being a firefighter. Now he’s one of Centerville’s best.

Andrew Schuler’s path to the fire service was anything but typical, but he steps into the role with a curious mind and a hunger for impact.

Schuler, a firefighter at the Centerville Fire Department, originally studied psychology at Georgia Southern University. Wanting to take a break from school, he took a degree-related job.

But two years later, his work no longer resonated and he was looking for a career change.

“I kind of hated going to work, and I needed something different. Driving to Milledgeville and Macon was killing me,” he said.

On the way to the gym, Schuler saw a sign at the old station advertising CFD and decided to give it a shot. A call from the station confirmed his newfound curiosity.

“It wasn’t really anything planned. A lot of people were like, ‘I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter since I was a kid.’ That wasn’t really how it worked for me. It just kind of happened,” he said.

Now, Schuler is approaching his five-year mark at his first station and admits the work is busy for a smaller city. Some days see one or two calls, some 10, but there is always work to do until evening time.

“We do a lot of maintenance on hydrants, vehicles … we stay typically pretty busy until about five o’clock. In the afternoons, about three-ish, it kind of slows down a little bit. We will do some [physical training], we’ll work out. We hang out together, watch movies, play games,” he said.

Volume doesn’t always mean the most dire situations, as Schuler explained. Sometimes, the call only requires blocking traffic for an accident.

However, when the call turns dangerous and makes an impact, it becomes truly memorable, like a call Schuler responded to a year into his career.

“There was a three-year-old boy choking on a hot dog … I performed the backslaps and got the hot dog out. That makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you actually helped somebody that day,” he said.

Another memorable call for Schuler saved a house from total destruction, thanks to the team’s swift action. He’s thankful for increased fire safety measures, but does like fighting fire and using his training when the time comes.

“Their entire garage was on fire. It was pushing into their kitchen wall. We got a really good stop on it, so it didn’t get inside their house. It burnt their inside kitchen wall, and that’s it. The rest of their house was still standing, and they just rebuilt the garage,” he said.

Firefighting is without a doubt a tough job, but the culture at Centerville Fire keeps him motivated. Schuler gave credit to his mentors, Dustin Talley and Clint Traxler, and said everybody has been friendly.

“We have really good guys around us here. What makes it nice to be here is when the people around you are good to be around. You have fun. Everyone’s open for conversation. If something’s going wrong, you can fix it,” Schuler said.

That support helped him tremendously when he first got into the field and navigated the unusual 24-hour work schedule. Add on a curious mind, and Schuler was set for success.

“I came from an office job that was a 9-5. It was a big switch and I was nervous. There’s now a chance that someone else’s life or someone else’s property is in your hands. A lot of nerves to begin, but the guys around you pick you up, teach you what to do and knock those nerves off,” he said.

Schuler’s secret to balance is staying physically active and separating his work from free time.

“I like the gym, golf. When I leave here, I try not to think about the fire service. That’s how you get burned out on most jobs. So, I try to avoid that unless I’m at work,” he said.

And he prefers not to revisit, keeping him motivated for the next call.

“I typically don’t talk about most of my calls again. I just want to separate that. [With] some of the stuff you do see or have to go through, having that block helps it not eat at you and not ruin the job or push you away,” he said.

Now, Schuler has leadership in his sights and has made the effort to mature and grow. He thinks that progress was the reason he was nominated for Hometown Heroes.

In all he does, better days for fellow firefighters and the community is the motivation.

“When we’re seeing them, they might be having the worst day, but maybe [it’s] that one small thing that [I] did,” Schuler said. “When I leave that scene, I helped that person.”