William Trowell’s professional journey has taken him from coordinating search and rescue operations on British Columbia’s North Coast to helping businesses and organizations prepare for risks before they become emergencies.
Over more than two decades of volunteer search and rescue service in Prince Rupert and the surrounding North Coast region, Trowell participated in more than 500 incidents across land, air, and marine environments. He served in leadership positions including Search and Rescue Chief and Emergency Operations Centre Search and Rescue Coordinator, worked closely with the RCMP, and served with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary as a qualified Coxswain.
Those years provided more than emergency response experience. They helped shape an approach to leadership built around preparation, communication, teamwork, and the ability to make sound decisions when circumstances change quickly.
In 2006, Trowell carried those lessons into another chapter of his professional life when he founded Selkirk Security Services. Today, his work in Trail and the West Kootenays draws on decades of practical experience to help organizations strengthen risk assessment, emergency preparedness, and life safety planning.
Building a Foundation in Search and Rescue
Trowell’s experience in emergency management was built through years of volunteer service in Prince Rupert and across British Columbia’s North Coast.
Search and rescue in the region could involve a wide range of environments and circumstances. During his years of service, Trowell participated in more than 500 incidents involving land, air, and marine operations.
The work required technical skills, but it also demanded something less easily taught: the ability to remain focused when circumstances were uncertain.
As his experience grew, so did his responsibilities. William Trowell eventually served as Search and Rescue Chief and Emergency Operations Centre Search and Rescue Coordinator, positions that required him to help organize people, information, and resources during emergency situations.
Working closely with the RCMP added another dimension to that experience, while his service as a qualified Coxswain with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary expanded his involvement in marine operations.
“Search and rescue taught me that preparation is what gives people the ability to respond effectively when circumstances change,” Trowell said. “You can’t anticipate every situation, but you can build a team, establish a plan, and make sure people understand what is expected of them.”
Learning to Lead Under Pressure
Leadership in an emergency environment differs in some ways from leadership in business, but Trowell found that many of the underlying principles are remarkably similar.
Communication needs to be clear. Responsibilities need to be understood. Decisions often have to be made with incomplete information. Perhaps most importantly, people need confidence in both the plan and those around them.
Years of coordinating volunteers and working alongside other emergency response organizations reinforced Trowell’s belief that effective leadership isn’t about one person having every answer.
Instead, strong leaders create conditions that allow a team to function effectively.
That means listening, recognizing the abilities of others, communicating expectations, and remaining adaptable when the original plan no longer fits the situation.
“Leadership is really about helping people work together toward the same objective,” Trowell said. “In an emergency, there’s very little room for confusion. That same principle applies in business. People perform better when they understand the plan, their responsibilities, and how their role contributes to the larger goal.”
From Emergency Response to Business Ownership
In 2006, Trowell founded Selkirk Security Services, bringing the experience accumulated through years of emergency response into the private sector.
The transition from Search and Rescue Chief to business owner may appear significant, but many of the skills required were already familiar.
Risk assessment, planning, communication, accountability, and preparedness had been fundamental throughout his search and rescue career. Through Selkirk Security Services, those same principles could be applied proactively to help organizations identify vulnerabilities and prepare for situations they hoped would never occur.
His professional work has included a focus on emergency preparedness, risk assessment, security, and life safety planning.
For Trowell, preparedness is not simply about creating a document that sits on a shelf. Effective planning requires organizations to understand their risks, establish realistic procedures, communicate those procedures to their people, and revisit them as circumstances change.
That philosophy reflects a lesson carried forward from his years in search and rescue: preparation is most valuable when it takes place before it is needed.
Bringing Those Lessons to the West Kootenays
While Trowell’s extensive search and rescue service occurred in Prince Rupert and on British Columbia’s North Coast, his later professional and community involvement has been centered in Trail and the West Kootenays.
The geography changed, but many of the principles developed during his earlier career came with him.
Today, those experiences inform the way he approaches business ownership and works with organizations on preparedness and safety. Rather than viewing emergency management and business leadership as unrelated disciplines, Trowell sees considerable overlap between them.
Both require people to identify risks, establish priorities, communicate effectively, and make decisions with an understanding of their potential consequences.
His career also demonstrates how skills developed through volunteer service can continue to have value long after an individual leaves an operational role.
A Career Connected by Preparedness
Looking back, Trowell’s journey from search and rescue leadership on the North Coast to business ownership in the West Kootenays is less a change of direction than an evolution of the same underlying mission.
His years responding to more than 500 search and rescue incidents gave him firsthand experience with the importance of preparation, teamwork, communication, and leadership. Building Selkirk Security Services provided an opportunity to apply those lessons in a different environment, helping organizations think about risks before they become crises.
For Trowell, the connection between the two chapters of his career remains straightforward.
Whether coordinating an emergency response or helping an organization strengthen its preparedness, the objective is ultimately the same: understand the risks, build a capable team, establish a practical plan, and be ready to act when circumstances demand it.
More than two decades after beginning his volunteer service on British Columbia’s North Coast, those principles continue to shape William Trowell’s approach to leadership, business, and service today.
