Roel joined the Sarnia Fire Rescue Services in 1994, advancing from firefighter and driver to Acting Captain. He joined the Fire Prevention Division in 2012, performing the duties of code enforcement, education, and origin-and-cause investigation.

He is NFPA certified as Inspector, Fire and Life Safety Educator, Public Information Officer, and Investigator, and is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator through NAFI. In January of 2021, he was promoted to Chief Fire Prevention Officer. He is an Adjunct Instructor with the Ontario Fire College and an Associate Professor at Lambton College.

Fortunately, there is some time left to find him riding along the shores of Lake Huron and the flat roads of Lambton County on his bicycle, while he listens to some obscure European music.