Whenever you talk to a firefighter about the Fire Department, it doesn’t take long to hear from them about how they’re a family. They live together, they cook together, they hang out together…they have each other’s backs.

Even with that, family was especially on display at the Department’s most recent Promotion Ceremony. While family members helped pin each of the new leaders, two were extra special as they were pinned by family members also serving in the Fire Department or Sheriff’s Office.

For new Fire Prevention Chief Randy Cosnahan was pinned by his son, Sergeant Hunter Cosnahan, and Sergeant Jarvis Stewart was pinned by his father, Gabriel Stewart, and his mother, Cheryl Lundy, a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Deputy.

“A promotion in the fire service is not about rank alone,” Fire Chief Shane Edwards told the assembled and proud group. “It is about trust. It is about sacrifice. And it is about the willingness to stand in front when others need direction, confidence, and courage.”

“It’s about the resolve in your heart. It’s not just moving up the chain of command – it’s stepping deeper into the call to lead,” said Deputy Fire Chief Ron Smith. “As we like to say in this profession: ‘We don’t rise to the occasion—we rise to our training.’ And these individuals have done just that.”

Welcome to our newest leaders in the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department:

Fire Prevention Chief Randy Cosnahan

Fire Training Instructor James Ratterree

Fire Prevention Lieutenant Adam Barber

Lieutenant Ronald Pryor

Lieutenant Joshua Watts

Sergeant Brandon Duncan

Sergeant Jarvis Stewart

“As you step into new roles, remember this: leadership is not about power. It’s about purpose. It’s not about being in charge, it’s about taking care of those in your charge,” added Chief Smith. “True leadership means being calm in chaos, strength in uncertainty, and the example others choose to follow.”