His grandmother nudged him toward Perry Fire at 17. He never looked back.

Guided by his faith and willingness to serve, Senior Firefighter Timothy Jones has become a rising star at the Perry Fire Department.

Jones has been with the department for about four years, starting as a firefighter, then promoted to senior firefighter.

As a senior firefighter, he can use any apparatus at the fire station. This includes the engine, ladder truck and rescue truck. He also serves as a relief driver, meaning if one of the primary drivers is unavailable, he will fill in their position.

Jones clocks in very early in the morning then they will do “pass on.” Crews discuss what happened in the previous shift, if there’s anything missing on the truck or if anything important happened.

From there, his shift will clean the entire station and drivers will ensure their equipment is ready for use. After their cleaning duties, they will get started on their plan for the day, such as training or inspecting businesses.

During his time, Jones has received various accolades, including Firefighter of the Year. He is also a HazMat technician, trained in responding to hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction.

Jones is also part of the Georgia Search and Rescue team, with a five-class training program. Each class is different, but all discuss different forms of rescue, such as from confined spaces rescue or trenches.

Jones is also part of the Fire and Life Safety Educator team where he teaches children and the elderly about fire safety.

Originally from Jones County, he was 17-years-old when he quit his job stocking shelves at Ingles. His grandmother, who he was living with, told him he had to either play sports or work.

She later on told him the Jones County Fire Department was hosting a cadet program and encouraged him to join.

After a month, Jones knew he wanted to become a firefighter. The department then offered to enlist him into the fire academy.

From there, the rest is history. He had a full-time job as a fireman at just 18-years-old, right after graduating from the academy.

“That was cool. It gave me an early start,” he said.

Later, he worked at different fire departments. He strived to look for a place where he could grow and become the fireman he wanted to be. That place ended up being Perry Fire Department.

“I felt that this department seemed to give out the best opportunities. They offer raises for certain classes and they have a really nice structure as far as getting promotions. That brought me down here. I knew some people that worked here and they talked about how great it was,” he said.

Jones’s favorite part of the job is serving the tight-knit Perry community.

At the station, he shared that each shift also has their own Bible study group and they occasionally merge their groups together, another one of his favorite parts of the job.

“[I like] being able to get together as a group of people and have communion over Bible study and to live together, pretty much. All of my friends work here,” he said.

Jones aims to treat everyone like a friend and with respect. He said people tend to appreciate his kindness and believes he is well-liked.

“I always try to approach the day with excellence because that’s how Christ was. He was excellent [and] flawless. I kind of set that goal for myself. I often don’t fulfill that, I’m often not perfect, but that’s just how I try and do things,” he said.

He believes if a person can’t be trusted doing the small things, they can’t be trusted doing the big things. This is why with everything he does, he aims to get it right the first time or correct his mistakes. He always tells people he is not good at something until he has done it enough to be good at it.

Jones advises aspiring firefighters to be a part of the crew and aim to make the team better.

“I really try to focus on growing as a team because these are the guys I work with. If we have to do something that’s important or life-saving or dangerous, I need to make sure they’re good so that they don’t make a mistake. I have to make sure I’m good so I don’t make a mistake. It could get them hurt, get me hurt or the person we’re trying to protect get hurt,” he said.

Outside of the fire department, Jones enjoys fishing and serving as a Youth Pastor at a church in Macon. His selflessness, dedication, and faith is what makes him a shining example at the Perry Fire Department.